Episode - 29 - GenX Core Memories

[Music] Welcome to GenX Adulting and today Brian and I are going to talk about GenX core memories unlocked. So I've made a list of things I remember from my GenX childhood. Brian's made a list, but we have not shared that list. Even though sometimes throughout the week Brian would start to talk to me about his list, I would tell him to stop that we need to save it for this episode. So is that why you've not engaged when I brought them up? Yes. Okay. I have a feeling my list is not as good as yours because I've been struggling. So I'm curious to hear what yours is and then that may make my list evolve. I think that there may be a lot of similarities, like probably some things on my list you'll say, "Oh yeah, you know." And you'll be like, "Yeah, me too." But I didn't want to know it was on your list and I think that it's better just to kind of surprise each other because I'm curious how many we have are the same and how many are different. We're from the opposite coasts. I grew up on the west coast in Oregon. Brian grew up on the east coast in New Jersey. I don't know if that's going to have any bearing on it. I spent actually my younger formative years preschool through second grade in Northern California. So I was more in a very much hippie vibe, Northern California especially in the 70s. You certainly were not. No, I spent anything in my formative years. It's Northern New Jersey outside of New York City and then in Jersey City, which is right across the river from New York, but then I spent summers in West Virginia. Right. I had a very contrasting upbringing. You did. And I would spend part of my summer in Michigan where my dad lived because my parents were divorced. I had a very different vibe of California and Oregon.

You did. And I would spend part of my summer in Michigan where my dad lived because my parents were divorced. I had a very different vibe of California and Oregon. And New Jersey. The Midwest has its own completely different vibe. So yeah, so we'll see. So I'm just going to start. Yeah, you go first because I have a feeling my list sucks. Okay. But you go and we'll. Yeah, I already know there's a couple of things on here. I just know. So the first thing that comes to mind for me when I made this list and it's going to be weird. But it was my favorite candy and it was called tangy taffy. And you can't get it now. And so really? Yeah. So it was like it was like a stick. When did that stop? Because I could have sworn we I'd have recollection of it. So there's laffy taffy. Yeah. And laffy taffy has small squares, I think. And then it has like a bigger stick. That's like, I don't know, maybe seven inches long by like two inches wide and it's flat. But then tangy taffy was my absolute favorite candy and all through my childhood. And I think that's what I bought. I bought a $7.11, any convenience store. That's what I bought when I told the story on the other episode where I would go and pick up trash at the baseball diamond. Yeah. Yeah. And she would give me candy. That was one of the things she would give me. I would eat that walking home. Interesting. Like holding it just like a particular flavor. Cherry. Cherry. It was so good. So and I think the last time I had it was honestly, I think we were first married. So I was probably like 23. And then it just disappeared. Do you think it's still available on the West Coast? Someone has to chime in because we haven't been back in a few years. So did you not have tangy taffy?

And then it just disappeared. Do you think it's still available on the West Coast? Someone has to chime in because we haven't been back in a few years. So did you not have tangy taffy? I don't know. I recall us having some type of taff. Well, we had so growing up in New Jersey, we used to go to the shore. Well, yeah, that's different. That's salt water. Salt water taff. Yeah, we had that in Oregon at the coast. Yeah. Yeah. At the beach. I do recall some like really sugary, tangy, chemically flat type of shit that you would eat. But I. That's probably it. Yeah. But I wonder if that's from when we met and. You tried it. Yeah, maybe. I don't know. So I also like Charleston. Shew. That's funny. That was going to when you said, would you say, laugh here, tangy, tangy, taffy. I thought of Charleston. You Charleston. I love those. Yeah. Charleston. She was so good. Yeah. So those were. And then a bit of honey. Yeah, those are good. I liked a bit of honey. I don't know. I think that a honey you can get like places like Bass Pro Shops. I feel like that shows up for Halloween only. Maybe like. I don't even know the last time I saw a bit of honey. I feel like at least when Nathan and Kai were younger, throwing their candy out on the carpet. Yeah. Going through it. That's like. That was almost 20 years ago. They're older now. And then I loved hubba bubba. Hubba bubba was awesome. That was my bubble yum. Bubble yum and hubba bubba. Yeah. Those were my gums. What about big league chew? Nope. You didn't. I mean, I know. I knew of it. Yeah. But I was not interested in that. No, I love that. Because as a baseball player, as a kid, yeah, mimic the big league. Of course. Yeah. Because they chew tobacco. Yeah. It was completely accepted back then. Yeah.

interested in that. No, I love that. Because as a baseball player, as a kid, yeah, mimic the big league. Of course. Yeah. Because they chew tobacco. Yeah. It was completely accepted back then. Yeah. It was. I used to chew too. And we were in high school. So yeah. So I think that was more back then. I think it was a gender thing. I didn't know any girls that chewed big league chew. Nobody did. So that's. Yeah. So what's something on your list? Um, well, let's stick to the candy. Okay. I would say my favorite candies as a kid were jolly ranchers. Okay. And then red Twizzlers. Yeah. You're not. Red vines. Red vines. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know if that's a west coast thing or just because we did have Twizzlers. But I never, I rarely twizzlers. I liked red vines. I do recall going to the movies, ordering like a Pepsi or a Coke, the big bag of Twizzlers or actually we got to the point where you'd sneak them in, right? You go to the store and buy them and sneak them in. Yeah. And then drinking your Pepsi or Coke through the Twizzlers. Yeah. Right. Would you ever do that? Red vines. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. No. So good. Yeah. And then what was the first thing you said? You said Twizzlers and then what? Jolly Ranchers. Jolly Ranchers. And didn't you sell those at school? Yeah. I had a nice little racket going. I'd go to the Acme, which they don't really exist too much anymore. I don't think so. Go to the Acme. You could buy a bag for 79 cents. And then I would pack them up in my pockets and go sell them for like a quarter each in junior high. I had a lot of money on me at the, you know, relatively speaking, I had bills. What's crazy is that if those kids had even a quarter or two, they could have bought their own bank for 79 cents. Yeah.

had a lot of money on me at the, you know, relatively speaking, I had bills. What's crazy is that if those kids had even a quarter or two, they could have bought their own bank for 79 cents. Yeah. So I think it was a convenience thing. I had access. I lived kind of. Yeah. You walked across the street. That's right. Where you lived. Okay. So did you ever, did you ever wear wide leg pants? What are wide leg pants? Like bell bottoms? No. No? No way. Not even in the 70s. No. When we were younger. Okay. I picked on people if they did. No. No. Okay. So. I'm on the east coast. That wasn't cool. Oh, that's so funny. Okay. So when I. Maybe it's me though. But it's. So well, when I was in second, no. First and second grade specifically, I remember wearing this is in Northern California. Wide leg. We call them wide leg pants, but I think bell bottoms was the official name. And when you'd walk, they were so wide that it goes swish, swish, swish, like the quarter. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Quarter right. They're quarter rights. So the quarter wide leg pants would like you'd hear it as you're walking. That was a huge thing. So we all were. I feel like I would have to say almost my earliest recollection of bell bottoms might be like older girls in town. But maybe it's like the bad news bears watching the TV show. That's how I dressed. Yeah. Yeah. Not like that show. Like that was, I think you probably didn't you were like, we would wear knee high socks with the stripes. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And like with shorts. Yeah. Sometimes I'd wear nylon shorts. The girls did. It'd be like nylon. Like the blue. Like satiny. Like that. Like satiny shorts. Like satiny short shorts, even though I was young and then the knee high socks and sneakers. Yeah. Like, like blue Nike's or something.

Like satiny. Like that. Like satiny shorts. Like satiny short shorts, even though I was young and then the knee high socks and sneakers. Yeah. Like, like blue Nike's or something. Well, I don't even know the brand. It wasn't a thing. Yeah. I mean, once I got to fourth, fourth, no fifth grade, the preppy handbook came out sixth grade, the preppy handbook came out. Was that a thing for you? I don't recall ever hearing that. So we had a very preppy face. Well, I don't recall the preppy handbook. That was huge. At least that was when I was in Oregon and Portland. Beaverton, to be exact. The preppy handbook came out. And we all were penny loafers. And we put pennies in our loafers. Wearing pink and green, like a certain color pink and green, like Kelly green. And like, not like a hot dark pink, but like a bright light pink. Eyes on or now they call it Lacoste. I mean, I think it was Lacoste them, but everyone called it eyes on. Popping the collars. Oh yeah. Pop the collars. Yeah. That was girls and boys were that. And that was the whole thing. And then jeans. What was that for you? That's like sixth grade. So that's why like 80 82. 80, that was like eighth grade or ninth grade, seventh, ninth grade type of thing. I remember going into my freshman year of high school dressed up like dressed up. Yeah. Like preppy. And then for the first day, second day of school, I think I was in sweats. Yeah. And the team, you know, logo type of thing. Yeah. You're playing sports. But I think because you lived, I lived in a fairly metropolitan area. And I think because you lived in a small town in a rural New Jersey, I think in towns like that, you guys got things a little even though you're outside in New York City. I think you still got things a little bit later

you lived in a small town in a rural New Jersey, I think in towns like that, you guys got things a little even though you're outside in New York City. I think you still got things a little bit later than people lived in, like in more suburbia. Yeah, because we got things like, like that. Like we got MTV. That was on my list. MTV, I think it came. It came August. Like, August something 1981. I can't remember exactly the day we got MTV the day it premiered. I remember coming home from school or whatever day that was and watching the premiere video killed the radio star was the first video ever played on MTV. I remember watching that. And I was addicted. And that's what I did. Like after school, after I get my chores done all that, I'd watch MTV. But I think you guys got it after us. Well, what's interesting is I have a cousin who grew up in Jersey City. Yeah. And I remember her telling us about it. And we didn't to your point, we didn't get it. I don't think we got it to like, I don't know, seventh or eighth grade, maybe six. Yeah, whenever it was, but it was after the fact. I remember her saying you don't have MTV. And she was shocked. Yeah, you know, you you country people. Yes. Yeah. So I think but MTV was, that was everything. And it was just videos. It was just music. We had VJs like Martha Quinn and good one. Mark Goodwin was one Martha Quinn. It really drove the music scene back then. Even the Grateful Dead came up with videos. Yeah, right. Everybody got sucked into it changed everything because it gave us access to to seen who the music live. But without having to go like before that, you always had to go to a concert to see them. Well, or if they performed at a variety show on TV, it wasn't even that it was creative

music live. But without having to go like before that, you always had to go to a concert to see them. Well, or if they performed at a variety show on TV, it wasn't even that it was creative artistic videos, like just creative stuff. Remember the Michael Jackson thriller video? Oh, yeah. They were watching that Christmas dinner with the whole family glued in for like 20 minutes. Michael Jackson thriller changed everything for sure. That was like a mini movie. That was a masterpiece. There's no question about it culturally changed landscape. But MTV in general, in any musician you liked any band you liked to be able to have access to them like that to be able to watch a video of the songs you like on repeat. And it was constant. It was 24 seven music videos. And nothing shocked me more than when MTV stopped playing music videos. And it went into TV shows. I was shocked. Yeah. Well, aren't there like three or four MTV stations? Or isn't there like a classics? And I think if you pay extra for that, but I don't even think that one plays all music. It's weird. Like VH1 used to be music videos that it went to be different genre though writers. Yes. I don't even know what it was. But it was more like soft rock stuff. Michael Bolton. Well, MTV kind of got taken over by rap. I remember Friday and Saturday nights. It was all rap. Yeah. Run DMC. Yeah. I don't even remember. They would have like metal night. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just like a metallic gun. They had the headbangers headbangers ball. Yeah. It was awesome. And then it like kids that don't know. There's you know, there's whole generation that's watched MTV as like a TV channel to watch shows. That's weird. And they have no idea that that was not it at all. It was

know, there's whole generation that's watched MTV as like a TV channel to watch shows. That's weird. And they have no idea that that was not it at all. It was music television. Yeah. So MTV was really is dear and dear to my heart was a huge part of my I think I know some musicians still do videos like Billy strings just did one. He's done a couple right. But I don't think it's really a thing per se like the Red Hat Chili Peppers. They had great videos. Yeah. No, I think that I think that they still make videos. But it's it's weird. I don't know where you watch them. So that's that's one MTV. We sound like boomers. I know. What the hell's going on. Right. Your your turn. I was thinking. Okay. So on my list. Do you remember frozen dinners? TV dinners. Is that what they're called? Well, I call them TV dinners. My mom probably we'd go to the grocery store and we walked the aisle and I always picked mine based on the dessert. That's so funny. I think I did. Most people did. Like I like that red stuff. Whatever the hell it was. Oh my god. I forgot was that wasn't like a cherry pie. Was it something well for me? You know, like for me today. I don't really microwave anything. Yeah. I honestly don't remember. They were microwave then though. You made them once. Not everyone had microwaves right. When we first got TV dinners, you made them in the oven. No. Yes. I don't think so. And then once people started getting microwaves. Yeah. But I started out with making TV dinners in the oven. Not a microwave. Because I don't use a microwave today for the most part. I don't know if I've used one at once this year. And we I remember nuking them. Like over nuking them. And they had the plastic on top. You'd have to cut the hole. Yes. Make sure you desert. Maybe

don't know if I've used one at once this year. And we I remember nuking them. Like over nuking them. And they had the plastic on top. You'd have to cut the hole. Yes. Make sure you desert. Maybe it's they've covered or whatever. Yeah. Maybe the meat if it was even meat. It's so bad. You think about your your microwaving and there's plastic. Yeah. Totally. In some. And chemicals in that. Paper. Yeah. Tray that's lined with some waxy. Well when we first got them they were in metal. That's why they went into the oven. Yeah. Okay. So you have to remember. You started earlier than me then. Well okay. So I had a single mom right? Yeah. So her and I would go and we I'd get to pick out. It was a big deal. Like I get to pick out my TV dinners. And we'd make them in the oven. And that. There it is. The thing was metal. Like it wasn't the plastic or the paper whatever. Yeah. And then I think my mom's first microwave was huge. It was like $600 or something. Yeah. And 500 pounds. Giant. Yeah. It is so heavy. It's like the TV's you see. Yes. It was like life changing obviously. But yeah the TV dinners. And then I remember like the fried chicken. I can still picture the way the fried chicken tastes in those TV dinners. I'm I you know. So totally different way of getting to these TV dinners is I'm like our kids very selective eating. So my dad would be like what am I gonna what are you gonna eat? And I think I went in on TV dinners once and he's like okay. So then I never went shopping like you did like this. It wasn't an event. It was just like there were TV dinners. Yeah. Like freezer. Because you had a dad. I like that turkey. Yeah probably. But I love that turkey one with the sliced turkey with the gravy. Yes. And the mashed potatoes.

Like freezer. Because you had a dad. I like that turkey. Yeah probably. But I love that turkey one with the sliced turkey with the gravy. Yes. And the mashed potatoes. And we would over nuke it so it would like burn on the sides. Yeah. It was like plasticy and that's so good. That I wonder why there's a whole epidemic. Yeah. Well you know what back then not everyone wasn't overweight like people weren't anyways that's all another thing. Yeah. But the mashed potatoes almost tasted like Kentucky fried chicken mashed potatoes. Yes. So good. And I remember I'd get the meatloaf one but I think that's because it had the brownie or something. Meatloaf I forget. I forgot about it had that weird like catch up line of shit at the top. Yes. No I love the TV dinners. Do they even have TV dinners now? I don't know. Okay I have I'm announcing something we're gonna do. So Gen X adulting is we're gonna go see if they have TV dinners and if they do we're gonna get them and we're gonna do a live and we'll have TV dinners. And people can come in and talk to you. You're gluten free. You think you're gonna pull them off? There'll be something. Like I'll be able to eat something on there. I know. We'll get the turkey dinner. You can have my corn. There you go. You never know now there could be gluten free turkey dinners with the way life. I'm gonna double up. Okay. I'm gonna double up on the food thing. Did you ever have steak comes? No. Really? I did not even know what that was till I met you. Really? I don't I still don't really know what that is. It's like super thin sliced. They said it was beef. Yeah. Not sure. But it was super sliced super thin sliced beef. Yeah. That you would fry in a pan with like either butter or like in my dad's case he'd save

Yeah. Not sure. But it was super sliced super thin sliced beef. Yeah. That you would fry in a pan with like either butter or like in my dad's case he'd save the oil. My dad cooked. Yeah. He'd save the oil in the in the can and spread a little oil in there. Throw a couple steak comes on. Dump a ton of salt in a ton of pepper. So good. So wait was it frozen? Yeah. So you're buying like frozen sliced beef? Yeah. Yeah. That's a good way to put it. And then you would just your dad would just take it apart and like cook them. Yeah. Yeah. You would almost get like because it would be like maybe that thick or something. I don't know. Something like that. And you'd kind of get a knife and you'd separate them and then throw them in the frying pan and do they still have steak comes? I don't know. Okay. Well, I'm good. I would eat some of those. All right. We're gonna have to go on like an old, you know, we'll do an old school, if I some tangy taffy. In fact, if if anyone listens to this and you want to put in the comments food, you remember, we'll try to find it. Yeah. And then we'll do a live one night. With all the different foods. So, um, yeah, that'd be cool. Trip to Walmart. Maybe. Right. I don't know. I know. Publix might have it. Maybe target. Okay. So, um, did you watch electric company? Electric company. Which one was that? I did. I did. But I just don't remember. It was like, um, just these funky people singing. And it was like one of those. It was a dancing show. It was like Sesame. So there was Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers and a electric company. It was like, like hip and cool. Yeah. Like it was cooler. And that guy were bell bottoms. Um, I feel like he was in yellow. No, orange. I don't know. Maybe I'm getting confused.

electric company. It was like, like hip and cool. Yeah. Like it was cooler. And that guy were bell bottoms. Um, I feel like he was in yellow. No, orange. I don't know. Maybe I'm getting confused. Yo, Gabby Gabby. Cause yo, Gabby Gabby has electric company vibes. But, um, so when I was in daycare, uh, we would all sit around one of those TVs. It's like the wooden TV and all of us kids would sit around it and we'd watch electric company. We'd watch, um, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers. And also at home, at home, I would watch Mr. Rogers too. Remember he had those weird puppets. The like old, like the old people or the queen, those weird stuff going on there. Now that I look back, I'm like, those are weird puppets. Yeah. But I did love Mr. Rogers. Yeah. Yeah. All his messages. I loved how he came in. The OCD in me. Love the fact he came in and put on new shoes. He had house shoes. So he took off the shoes that were dirty and he put on his clean suit. I was obsessed with that. And then he put on a new jacket, his cardigan indoors, switch, switch, check it and put on his cardigan. And I was like, yes, that's, I love that about Mr. Rogers. You know, a lot of people pick on him for being weird and stuff, right? Yeah. He's got that reputation of just being kind of weird. Same with what's his name, the painter Bob Ross. But these are kind of in hindsight and modern times. He's got some, you know, pure, wholesome, decent people. They kind of could use a little more. I think so too. I love Mr. So many lessons. Yeah. The, the trolley, the trolley would take you to that land where the puppets were. Mr. Ed. I never watched Mr. Ed was in the same place as the-- Never watched it. Why? Because of Animal Rights? No, no, no. It was just never on.

the puppets were. Mr. Ed. I never watched Mr. Ed was in the same place as the-- Never watched it. Why? Because of Animal Rights? No, no, no. It was just never on. I never watched it. What about the Beverly Hillbillies? Yes. Okay. I watched that and I watched, um, Little rascals. I love little rascals. It was all black and white. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then leave it to Bieber. And I loved, I love Lucy. But all of these were black and white. Yeah, honeymooners. No, I didn't watch that. You didn't watch that? No, that weird. I didn't watch that. I just watched my shreds. So when I was a kid, a 17th grade, ninth, whatever, we would go roller skating every Saturday night. Yeah. And come home. That's a core memory, yes. Yeah, it's a core memory. Watch, wait, roller skate, come home around 11, 1130-ish, catch the tail end of a Yankee game. If it was still on, watch "Star Trek" and then the honeymooners. But I don't remember if honeymooners was first or second, but I'd watch "Star Trek" and the honeymooners. Honeymooners every night. I've seen every episode of that. Really? Yeah, 100%. So "Star Trek," I would watch like after school time when I'd get home. Like there'd be reruns. So I'd watch, I didn't watch it like the night. Yeah, the night of. No, it was, okay, so the night of shows? Well, "Saturday Night Live" too. I didn't really watch that till I got older, but I did, I remember being in second grade and Steve Martin premiered the song "King Tut." Yeah, yeah. And my mom and my stepdad were having a party, it was Northern California, I was like, margaritas were flowing. I was in my room and I had a little TV, black and white, and it was on my dresser. And I remember sitting in my room and watching that and I was mesmerized by that song.

I was in my room and I had a little TV, black and white, and it was on my dresser. And I remember sitting in my room and watching that and I was mesmerized by that song. It became my favorite song. Like that and the whole "King Tut" movement of like 1978 or something, like remember? I don't know about you, but it took over. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like in Northern, on the West Coast, like everyone was talking about "King Tut." I think they had discovered "King Tut" or something. It was around that time. I think they had, I think they had discovered his remains. That would make sense, because why else would Steve Martin be doing a bit on it? Yeah. Probably was topical. It was, but that song was awesome. I could still sing that song and his whole stick with that. But speaking of like shows that I did not miss, and I think these were on Saturday night, and it went in order, and I don't wanna get the order wrong, but I believe it started with "Chips," "Love Boat," "Fantasy Island," every Saturday. I actually had them on my list. They were earlier. I think actually, I wanna say "Fantasy Island" came on at nine o'clock. No, I think "Love Boat" came on at nine, and "Fantasy Island" came on at 10. Oh, really? It did, I remember. And because I could stay up and watch it because it was a Saturday. And then I loved "Threesome Company." Yep. That was a different night. That was a weeknight. Yeah, it feels like it. Laverne and Shirley. Yep, and "Happy Days." And "Happy Days." Yep, yep. Mm-hmm. Trying to think, oh, and Alice. Yep, Alice's restaurant. W.K.R.P. in Cincinnati. Love that, and I love that song. I still love it. Sometimes Yacht Rock will play it. And then, oh, what's that other one where they're in a news station? W.K.R.P.? No.

W.K.R.P. in Cincinnati. Love that, and I love that song. I still love it. Sometimes Yacht Rock will play it. And then, oh, what's that other one where they're in a news station? W.K.R.P.? No. Did you just say that? No, I did. They're reporters in a news, Barney, Barney. It'll come to me. It's a bunch of reporters. It'll come to me. I know what you're talking about. You know what I'm talking about? There was also, I had on my list, the People's Court, or Night Court, whatever it was. Night Court. Night Court. I was like, "How come we got a little older?" Yeah, yeah. That was like, that was like middle school-ish. You know what's wild? We're saying all this, and I'm trying to piece it together. How did I watch Saturday Night Live, The Honeymooners, and Star Trek? Like, what, and Plus Yankee Games? I don't know how that, it's all blending, because those were Saturday night shows. I watch Saturday Night Live every episode from when I was like super young. I would see it sometimes, but I think I was in bed by then. We actually, so this is great. I guess this is a core memory, but every Saturday night, my parents would go out with my aunt and uncle, and then we'd go, and this is pre-roller skating days. That's how this lines up. We'd go to my Tara's house, Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Tommy's, my cousin Tara's, and they would all go out to the bar, Fayer's bar in Andover, Byram, New Jersey, and we would spend the night there, and we had this babysitter who would watch us, because we're all pretty young. She was kind of mean, she was a bitch actually, from what I remember. But we'd all stay up and watch Saturday Night Live. Okay. So it was cool. I was young, really young. I didn't think I was allowed to stay up. I mean, I didn't--

from what I remember. But we'd all stay up and watch Saturday Night Live. Okay. So it was cool. I was young, really young. I didn't think I was allowed to stay up. I mean, I didn't-- Yeah, because that was, it ended at 1 a.m. Yeah, because I remember once I got older, I would like middle school, I would watch it. And then, but I do remember watching John Belushi and like Rosanna, Rosanna Danna, and all that. So I think I caught it at different times enough. What about Starsky and Hutch? Oh, of course. Yes. Okay, Dukes of Hazzard. That brings me to my next core memory. Actually with the Dukes of Hazzard, I remember recording the intro to Dukes of Hazzard on like a cassette tape, like these up here. Like the song. Yeah, the song. Yeah. And that was the thing. I've seen that on Instagram, like Gen X, Memes, and whatever, the struggle of putting together a playlist. The struggle was real. Do you remember listening to Casey Kasem, Top 20 Countdown? 100%, every Sunday morning. And then you'd have your boom box, I would, and I'd take a blank tape, and I would, when it was a song, I knew I would hit record. So I would make a mixtape off of Casey Kasem's Top 20 Countdown. Yeah, no doubt. Yeah, and I would wait, and then you'd still have to stop it, and you'd have to pay extra attention so that you could get the beginning and the end of your song. Yeah. Yeah. I remember being a kid going to Sunday school, and then my dad usually drove us, and we'd be sitting in the car sometimes, and sitting, waiting, instead of hopping out for the number one song, because that was the countdown. Oh, it was a big deal. Yeah. And I never missed that, I love that. I remember when "Foreigner Urgent" was number one.

instead of hopping out for the number one song, because that was the countdown. Oh, it was a big deal. Yeah. And I never missed that, I love that. I remember when "Foreigner Urgent" was number one. Yeah. That was a big song, right? Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay, so did you have a metal lunchbox? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you're gonna have to give me a minute to think of what one I had. I had "Dukes of Hazzard." I had a few, because every year I got a new one. I know I had "Dukes of Hazzard." Gosh, I can't think what, oh, I wish I could remember what other, I know for sure I can picture the "Dukes of Hazzard" one, and you can hear that sound, and you click the thing, open it, and then did you have a thermos inside that matched? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. 100, yeah. I didn't even bring soup to school. I think I would fill it with water, because I wanted to use that thermos so bad. So the lunchbox was like, for years I would get the metal lunchbox. So that's one of my-- But I think that's all they made. Probably. Right? We didn't necessarily grow up in a plastic generation. No, and then it switched to plastic. Yeah. And then it switched to plastic. Okay, so do you remember "Grease" being a big deal? Oh yeah. The movie "Grease." Do you remember going to see it in the theater? In the movie theater? Yeah. I think we saw it for the first time at the Newton Drive-In. Oh, wow. Yeah. I feel like-- In a drive-in. I think we saw it at the drive-in. That's another thing, a drive-in. I remember vividly the night we went with my mom and my aunt and my uncle and my cousins, and I remember sitting down. The movie "Grease" changed my life. I had never seen, I think I was in, oh my gosh, that would have been like 1979. So that was probably what, like second grade? It was life-changing.

The movie "Grease" changed my life. I had never seen, I think I was in, oh my gosh, that would have been like 1979. So that was probably what, like second grade? It was life-changing. I remember leaving there and never being the same again. There was something about that movie, the music, the magic of it, and it's still, I still cherish that movie. And I remember one of my good friends at the time, Alicia, she had jeans, and on the back pocket was the grease symbol. I wanted those so bad. We actually have the grease album. It's mine. Yeah, I know. That I got then. I remember going with my stepdad to a record store and picking out that album, and I don't even know how he bought it, but I would listen to his double album. I listened to that album every day. I can't even tell you for at least, I don't know, for years. Like I loved, grease was like pivotal for me. And I wonder if all Gen Xers, if they, like if it was so monumental, maybe just girls, I don't know. No, it's absolutely, even for boys that has an impact. I would think so. If they had the boys, the greasers or whatever, right? And the racing and the whole water thing and the drama and tension. So this is, and then waiting Sandy and seeing Sandy go from like. Prim and proper to this hot bad-ass and leather. I'll never forget when she walked up, I was mad because I thought it was a different woman. Like I didn't, it took me a minute to realize she had transformed because I was like seven or eight maybe. And I thought, oh my God, another woman's trying to steal Danny and then it was her. And I was like, and then those leather pants she had on. Oh my God. So that was. That was Olivia Newton-John, right? Yeah. Yeah, so we all boys my age. Loved her. I think I had a crush on her.

And I was like, and then those leather pants she had on. Oh my God. So that was. That was Olivia Newton-John, right? Yeah. Yeah, so we all boys my age. Loved her. I think I had a crush on her. Okay, so her and what Farrah Fawcett, right? Yeah, I mean, yeah, yeah. Of course Farrah Fawcett was a little boy sex symbol type of thing. Suzanne Summers. Suzanne Summers. Yeah. Yeah, Cheryl Ladd, I think. Yeah. Yeah. The Daisy from the Dukes. Yes, you know, Bach, Catherine Bach. Okay, so Charlie's Angels, that was on a different night. And then, oh, you just reminded me of another one. Well, let me ask. Oh, the bionic man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then the woman. Yeah, Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman, but no, the, so the million. I dream Magine. No, it's the million dollar man and the bionic woman. Remember it was Lindsay Wagner. Yeah. Was the bionic woman. I was obsessed with that. I liked the million dollar man, but I loved the bionic woman. Was that, what the hell's his name? Lee Majors. Yeah, Lee Majors. So that's when it would go, (imitates music) and he would be like super strong and shit. (imitates music) Okay, what about the Hulk with Lou Fregno? Oh, yeah. Yeah, and there's a funny thing I saw a meme about. Back then, we didn't have CGI. Our Hulk actually had to have muscles. Like those were his muscles, you know? So those were all on, but then Charlie's Angels and all, I think they were all kind of sex symbols. I have two. Okay. One, just thinking of the plastic stuff, and I had it on my list. You probably never had a stretch Armstrong, right? No, was he red? No, he was, the guys have to remember this. He was this figure, and talk about plastic. He was figure like this rubbery shell in a body, right? It was muscular body with like blond hair,

No, he was, the guys have to remember this. He was this figure, and talk about plastic. He was figure like this rubbery shell in a body, right? It was muscular body with like blond hair, and you could stretch them, and you could pull them in different directions. We all had it as kids. So kind of like the movie The Incredibles. No, not even. How they're stretching. It's stretch Armstrong. Okay. This is stretch Armstrong. I've never heard of stretch Armstrong. That's amazing. Yeah, but I bet that's because I'm a girl. I'm sure stretch Armstrong was on the West Coast. Oh, 100%. I don't know. No stretch Armstrong was like probably Hasbro or. Okay, yeah. So here's the other one. When you mentioned Greece, now I can go there with Greece, but were you a Footloose person too? Oh yeah, I saw it in the theater. Yeah. That was life changing. Yeah, that's the most curious thing. The opening to that movie was like insane. Why, I don't remember it. It was the song, the Footloose song, and then it was like feet dancing. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, but it was. Like tapping or something. But that song is insane. That song is still so good. And that was Kenny Loggins. Yeah, yeah. And I remember I never heard anything like that before. I was gonna stand up, but I just messed up your video. I was gonna grab a cassette for people who don't know what a cassette looks like. Well, I think they can look on the internet. (laughing) We have, at some point we should do a tour of the studio. Yeah. To show people. We should do a live or something. Cause there is a whole bunch of cassettes hanging over Brian's head right now that he's collected over the years. Most of them are grateful to bootlegs. Okay, so what was I saying? Kenny Loggins, so it was Footloose. But then he also, he

Brian's head right now that he's collected over the years. Most of them are grateful to bootlegs. Okay, so what was I saying? Kenny Loggins, so it was Footloose. But then he also, he sang a lot of good ones, like for Top Gun. He sang Danger Zone. Yeah, Danger Zone. Really? Yeah, he was hot in the 70s and 80s. That was the Kenny Loggins. What was his, was he a musician or a singer? Remember it was Loggins and Messines, how he started out. Yeah, no, I love Loggins. They're amazing, I know. Down at Pooh Corner, oh my God. But then he took off with, he had like I Am All Right, and this is it, like a whole bunch of good songs. Why don't you sing those? No. Anyways, Footloose, life changing. That's what I figured. 100%. I can't say I agree. I mean, I respect it, but it's not, I had a feeling. It was more, I think, a chick flick where, you know. Everyone fell in love with Kevin Bacon. Yeah. 100%. I was obsessed. Isn't his wife the star in that? Like his real wife? No, no, Kara Sedgwick, she's in, she's in that, she was, I discovered Kara Sedgwick in Singles, that movie Singles, which is another good Gen X flick. That Singles, if anyone really wants to know the vibe of the grunge movement in real time, Singles was filmed during-- That has what's her name in it? That has, Kara Sedgwick, it has Bridget Fonda. Chris Cornell makes an appearance in it, so does Eddie Vedder. Matt Dillon. But who's the one, the one that I liked? Who? Oh no, you're thinking of Reality Bites. Winona Ryder. Okay, Winona. Reality Bites, another excellent Gen X flick. Oh my gosh, so relatable. Love, Reality Bites, that's actually on my list. You know what I saw today? Actually, and this really pisses me off, that we were not dialed in. Red Hot Chili Peppers,

Oh my gosh, so relatable. Love, Reality Bites, that's actually on my list. You know what I saw today? Actually, and this really pisses me off, that we were not dialed in. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana, I think it was, it was a triple billing at the Salem Armory in 1992. So we were in Oregon. We were within driving distance of Salem, and the tickets were like $7.16 or something. We were in college. Yeah, we should have gone. That's crazy. So stupid. We missed the-- That's the where, without the internet, you didn't know everything that was going on. Not at all. So you had to either-- You had to be dialed in on some mailing list probably. Yes, something. Like, I don't know how we would find out about stuff, but yeah. You're catching that? No, that would have been insane. Oh my gosh, that's crazy. Okay, so I know you know that this, I know this is a core memory for you, smoking the Bandit. Oh yeah. Smoking the Bandit. My favorite movie. I know. And then Cannonball Run. Oh, 100%. So those had that vibe, right? I was watching those when I was in first grade, and there's nudity, there's a scene in Cannonball Run where the one guy watches Behind the Green Door, which is a porn. Yeah. What was the, I'll use the nice term, the over, the larger guy, Dom De La Week? Yeah. Yeah, what a comedian, right? He was great. Yeah. And then do you remember that movie, Convoy? Oh yeah. With Chris Christofferson. Absolutely, yeah. Do you remember that truckers were big for a while? Yeah. For CB radios. My West Virginia days. Yeah, and CB radios were a big deal. Yeah, we had a CB radio. My dad had one. And I actually want one. A CB? Absolutely. In the car? 100% for my Jeep. Okay. Anyways, there was a whole trucker thing. Yeah.

Yeah, we had a CB radio. My dad had one. And I actually want one. A CB? Absolutely. In the car? 100% for my Jeep. Okay. Anyways, there was a whole trucker thing. Yeah. It was the same time? There was a member of DJ in the Bear. Yes. And then there was something about Big Ben or something. Big Ben. I don't know. Maybe I'm confusing stuff, but. Oh, do you remember the guy who had like seven girlfriends? He was a trucker and he had seven girlfriends and I can't remember the name of it, but that song. I don't remember that. Yes. Oh my gosh, somebody's gonna know, but it was a trucker guy and he had seven girlfriends. It was something about, oh gosh, I can't remember now. It'll come to me though. You know what was smoking a bandit? This could potentially be embarrassing, but two of my best friends, my buddies Matt and Kevin, and I would watch smoking a bandit very frequently in high school. Like after school, like we'd watch it. You were still watching it. We're still watching it, yeah. And smoking the bandit too as well, right? Yeah, but it wasn't as good. The original was the-- Yeah, I remember going to see smoking the bandit with my dad or smoked, I think I have a good memory of that as smoking the bandit too. Okay, so did you have one of those viewfinder things that you would go click, click? Like you look at it like binoculars. Oh, yeah, yeah. Like in binoculars. With the circular thing and it had little pictures and it would advance. Yes. Yeah. So you could pick the type of, like you could pick Europe and it would be like pictures of different countries in Europe. And I love those. That was like a toy. Yeah, I forgot about those. And then you didn't have a banana seat on your bike, right? I did, I had the Huffy Buckaroo.

different countries in Europe. And I love those. That was like a toy. Yeah, I forgot about those. And then you didn't have a banana seat on your bike, right? I did, I had the Huffy Buckaroo. And you had a banana seat? Hell yeah. Okay. I forget, I had to be young, fifth, sixth grade, maybe something, but I had the Huffy Buckaroo with the long banana seat and the bar that, you know, the kind of the thing. So you could press your S on that and then do wheelies. Oh, well, I was not doing that. But I loved my banana seat. And so I had that when I was like first grade, second grade, third grade. I guess, did all kids bikes have bananas? All kids bikes, yeah. I don't know why they got rid of them. Bananas seats were comfortable. They were so comfortable. Okay, so this is so random. Okay, so you woke up, I think most Gen X's Saturday morning cartoons were the highlight of our lives. I was bowling. You were bowling on Saturday morning? Absolutely. So wait, you didn't wake up. No, I did, I did. I think I would wake up and again, a lot of this stuff blends, right? Because you jump into different things over time. But it wasn't wake up and go do some recreational sport per se until you hit a certain age. Yeah. Like it feels like with our kids, it's like get up and go. Right. No, but yeah, the cartoons, remember they had those Olympic things? Yes. And the Smurfs, the Smurfs were all the rage. And like the superheroes, like Superman, Batman. What was that Olympic thing? You just totally unlocked a core memory. What was animals competing? Yeah, they were competing and they had announcers and they were like almost announcing it like adults. See, we're probably seeing inappropriate shit, but we had no clue. I can picture it now,

Yeah, they were competing and they had announcers and they were like almost announcing it like adults. See, we're probably seeing inappropriate shit, but we had no clue. I can picture it now, but I totally forgot about that show. We have to find out what that show was called. I love that. So I would come out, get out of bed, make cereal, probably, I think it was like a sugar cereal, like Frosted Flakes or something. And I would sit in front of the TV and watch Saturday morning cartoons for like three hours easily. I feel like I would do that and then go bowling. I used to bowl every Saturday morning for some age period. I don't know what it was. And I do remember it was during the Smurfs because the Smurfs, everyone at the bowl and Ellie's talking about the Smurfs. Love the Smurfs. I was obsessed with the Smurfs. I remember when the Smurfs, all of it. Little Daisy Smurfs, whatever they were. No, it wasn't Daisy Smurfs. I remember her name, but no, I was obsessed. And I had all the figurines. They had Smurf figurines and I had them on and I would like play it like in my Barbies. That cabbage patch. I was never into that. My sister and cousins were. Yeah, that whole thing. I'm sure my mom was thrilled that I was not into cabbage patch at all. So, because remember there was like fighting. Oh yeah. It was a huge deal. People were getting in. It was a big deal. Now I was into Barbie. I was so into Barbie. I had so many Barbies and Ken's and the Smurfs. I played Barbies. You played with your sister and cousin. Oh, I would play Barbies. So that's one thing about, I didn't grow up with siblings. So I spent a lot of time on my own and I would do a lot of like make-believe play and stuff. Okay, so do you remember there was a Folgers commercial

I didn't grow up with siblings. So I spent a lot of time on my own and I would do a lot of like make-believe play and stuff. Okay, so do you remember there was a Folgers commercial where the sister like answers the door. This young man shows up the door and a girl answers the door and it's his sister. But the way they're acting is weird. You almost would think it might've been her boyfriend, but you come to find out it's their brother and sister. It was the weirdest Folgers commercial. Do you remember that? No recollection at all. I remember that. It was like she made him coffee before anyone wakes up. And then they're like giving eyes to each other. It was very weird. So you don't remember that Folgers commercial. That was on all the time. And I remember being so uncomfortable with that. Do you remember that commercial that was, I can bring home the bacon. Oh yeah. What was that? That was a perfume. Yeah, okay. Like, I'm gonna say like Anjali. Yeah, something like that. Oh yeah, that lady was dancing. Yeah, oh, I completely remember. Yeah, that was the beginning of the brainwashing of what? Yeah, that's where you guys gave up your femininity. No, no, it's where we had to buy into, we can do it all and took on everything instead of demanding, okay, you want us to go work outside the home, you need to help 50-50 in the house. The domestic conversation never happened. So we've talked about this in other episodes, but that commercial is part of the propaganda that was fed. Because I remember watching that and thinking, even at a young age, oh, I'm gonna do it all. I'm gonna do everything. Actually, it's funny you say that because those guys were like, she was hot. And it's like, I gotta get me one of them. Well, there you go.

oh, I'm gonna do it all. I'm gonna do everything. Actually, it's funny you say that because those guys were like, she was hot. And it's like, I gotta get me one of them. Well, there you go. And therein lies the problem. And therein lies why the Gen X women are hitting midlife and telling the men, I'm outta here if you don't. I need a hot woman who fries it up in the pan. And makes money. Yeah, it does the whole thing. Embrace your kids, cleans your house. Gotta get two of them. Does your laundry. No, it would take two or three to truly do it. No one can do it all and do it all well. Somewhere along the line. I don't give up. Yes. Somebody is not getting what they should, whether it's at work, whether it's with your children, whether it's your house, whether it's, you got me started. You got me started. It's a whole thing. Anyways, did you keep a comb in your back pocket? Hell yeah. Yeah, me too. When I was a girl. The black comb. Was your hair feathered? My hair was so feathered. So when we'd go to the roller rink, right? You'd go to the roller rink, you got a comb in your back pocket. You start. Yeah. Yeah. So us girls, we did more of like checking our hair, but it was part down the middle, feathered. That was yours, a black comb or like a purple one that kinda was bigger, cause I kinda remember those too. So it was, no, it wasn't like the boring black. It had the handle and it was some sort of glittery, pretty color. With ours, we had the kind of the wider teeth and then the narrower teeth in a way. No, no, this was just like a cute comb, like a girl comb. So speaking of roller skating, I also loved going to the roller rink. That's a huge core memory. One of the things I remember from it is privatized by Hall of Notes.

like a girl comb. So speaking of roller skating, I also loved going to the roller rink. That's a huge core memory. One of the things I remember from it is privatized by Hall of Notes. They would play it. And when it would go that, everyone would stamp their skates. I remember that. I love the roller rink. Yeah. That was the best. Yeah. I wish that that was a thing still. I think they're around, but I just think it's such a novelty. Now it's probably so expensive. All right, do you remember when arcades appeared? Yeah. Like we were alive when there were no video games. Yeah. And then when arcades appeared. That's not true. We had the Atari 2600 and we had the... The TV with the Pong and chh chh. But we were alive before that. You know what I mean? Like we, when we were young is when video games came about. Oh yeah, yeah. So yeah, Atari. Yeah. What was that, Pong? Yeah. So Pong, but then arcades. So we, at the bowling alley, they had arcade games. Yes. So you'd bowl. Yeah. And then after bowling, you'd put your quarters in and play games. It was a quarter. Like Big Doug, Asteroid, Pac-Man. And then Ms. Pac-Man. Super, yeah, yeah. But Pac-Man, remember when Pac-Man came out? That was huge. Yeah. That was huge. I was so good at it. I was so good at Ms. Pac-Man, but it was a quarter. Yeah. It wasn't, we put our quarters in. It was a quarter. There were some games so that, then they jumped to 50 cents. Yeah, well, like everything. And that got a little offensive, yeah. But I remember going to arcades and spending time in arcades and you would just, you literally, what you did there was play games for like hours. Where was your arcade located? Like we had one, I was trying to remember. The mall.

and you would just, you literally, what you did there was play games for like hours. Where was your arcade located? Like we had one, I was trying to remember. The mall. The mall, that's the end of us. Because we would go to the mall and just walk around. Okay, so Orange Julius, did you have that? Yeah, yeah. Oh, nothing is so as good as an Orange Julius. They're so good. Oh, I loved it. It was like a creamsicle. So we would walk around, we'd go into the arcade, we'd go to Orange Julius, we'd go to Spencer's. Yeah, totally. And there was like inappropriate stuff in there. That I totally didn't know what it was, but I knew it wasn't okay. And there was like Frederick's of Hollywood and it was like, ooh. Because I think that was before Victoria's Secret really took over. I think Frederick's was our lingerie. What I liked about Spencer's was besides all the inappropriate shit. Where's the black room, or the black light room? Yes. With all those cool posters. I totally forgot about that. Black light posters. That was the whole thing. Yep. That would be cool to do. One of my favorites was the Jim Morris and poster, do you remember that one? It was the Jim Morrison black light poster. No, not Vivint. That was so cool. I forgot about the black light room. So would you spend a ton of time at the mall? A lot, yeah, no, I was gonna say that's one where I don't think, the kids do it a little bit, but they burn out of it. But yeah, the malls for us went from a young age all the way up through high school. Well, because we were there at the beginning of malls. Yeah, probably. So the mall was like a big deal. Yeah. Because it was new. Even for our parents, probably, oh, let's go to the mall. Yeah, no, the mall was everything.

at the beginning of malls. Yeah, probably. So the mall was like a big deal. Yeah. Because it was new. Even for our parents, probably, oh, let's go to the mall. Yeah, no, the mall was everything. The mall, it's such a nostalgic feeling, going to the mall and it would just be this wonderland. You could spend hours there with your friends. I feel like back then, and I could be wrong, but I feel like maybe there were more stores that kids could go in, middle school, high school age kids could go in where now, I don't know, there's like Lululemon and stuff like that, I think there was more fun stores. Well, for us, from what I recall, we had the arcade. Then you had Walden Books, we'd go in. Spent a lot of time in there. We had a baseball shop card. I used to collect baseball cards. There's none of that now. There's a record store. Record stores. You'd walk up and down the aisle. Did you have Tower Records? Tower came later, but it felt like the record store kept changing for some reason. He just completely unlocked a memory for me. In the mall, one of the things we would do is go to Tower Records and spend a solid hour easily looking through all the albums. That was what we did. And on the back behind the cashiers were the new albums. They had just come out. You could see what was new. Tower Records was a place, as soon as I would get to the mall, for Tower Records. And I would buy 45s, do you remember 45s? Oh yeah. We still have them. Yeah, yep. So many 45s. And you'd have to put that little plastic disc in so you could play it. Oh my gosh. Quick sidebar on the vinyl. So Grateful Dead just released the Beacon Theater in 1976 on vinyl and we gotta get it. Just a reminder. Okay, okay. Do you remember when

Oh my gosh. Quick sidebar on the vinyl. So Grateful Dead just released the Beacon Theater in 1976 on vinyl and we gotta get it. Just a reminder. Okay, okay. Do you remember when Walkmans came on the picture? Yep, yep. And what a big deal that was, to be able to wear your music and walk around, literally. Yeah, that's kind of Walkman. But that was huge. And actually people don't realize, well, young kids don't, right? They have airbuds with Bluetooth. We had those headphones that were not big like we're wearing. They weren't these. No. They were kind of that in between buzzy thing. Yeah, and then there were the small ones that were like, it was just the metal strip and then a small thing right here. Yeah, no, Walkmans, that was it. You'd put your tape in there. When I was in high school and we'd go to away games, I remember I would listen to, I had a Walkman with the headphones we just described. I'd listen to Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks, to these games and back and forth. I'd listen to that album 500 times. No, it gave us the ability to listen to music outside of our home, outside of a car. Yeah, and choose your own music instead of whatever was coming on the radio. Yes, it gave us autonomy when it came to our own music. Well, before that was boomboxes, right? But then if you walked around with it, it's loud. Everyone can hear. It's inconvenient. Yeah, this was your private experience. The Walkman gave you that. Honestly, it was between that and MTV. I was like, entire records, I was in heaven. Did you remember there were smoking sections everywhere we went? There were smoking sections at McDonald's. We actually had a smoking section at our school. Oh, for sure, where the smokers went. But like any place, even

everywhere we went? There were smoking sections at McDonald's. We actually had a smoking section at our school. Oh, for sure, where the smokers went. But like any place, even if you went to McDonald's, there were ashtrays, there was smoking, airplanes had smoking, airplanes. I don't remember, I guess they did. They did, because I remember I'd fly back and forth between Oregon and Michigan. It was the back. Like that made the biggest difference. Okay, it's just in the back. Every restaurant, when the hostess would ask you how many people, and then the second question was smoking or non-smoking. Yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, they were everywhere you went. I think that's an improvement in the world. Oh, for sure. Obviously. But at the time, we were just used to that. Like no matter where you'd go, smoking sections. Not just used to it. I remember driving, and I think I've talked about this in my relatives' cars who would smoke. We'd be in the back seat without seat belts and a big sedan, cruising along the roads, and they'd be up there smoking and blowing it in the car. That was my mom. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, my mom smoked Virginia Slims. Okay, so did you bite your pencil? Do you remember biting? Like so we'd all have the yellow pencils, right? The number two pencils. Do you remember biting your pencil? I do, but not like a-- Where it was all bit. Yeah, yes, but not really. It's not a core memory. Okay, I used to bite all my-- I love the way, not that it tasted, but just that feeling of biting into the pencil. And then do you remember-- It's funny you say that. I remember the bite and how it broke through the paint, and then you'd get to that next layer, then you'd move on. That kind of-- Yes, yes, yes. Crazy. And I can not taste it.

I remember the bite and how it broke through the paint, and then you'd get to that next layer, then you'd move on. That kind of-- Yes, yes, yes. Crazy. And I can not taste it. I can smell it taste it. Okay, so then did you go to the pencil sharpener just because you were bored and want to get out of your seat? But then that thing would always be just a little close enough to the wall where you'd get your knuckles. You remember that? Yeah, I do. So you kind of would have to hold it and do it, and it would have that sound. Yeah, yeah. But it was-- I remember, yeah, sometimes you'd be like this, but I remember doing it and trying to make enough noise to be disruptive to the class to be that-- Why does that not shock me? Why does that not shock you? You were Dennis the Menace. There's no question about that. Okay. I was a kid soon. So yeah. Do you remember how we used to, like not you and me, but how we would slow dance in high school? Yeah, yeah. You'd hold your arms straight out? It was either that or you were like totally hugging as close as you could be. I don't think I ever did the closest you could. Maybe for prom, because by then I had a girlfriend. Well, that's high school. I'm talking about middle school, but the back and forth, just one step, one step. But I loved middle school dances. So Tears for Fear, all the 80s, like Madonna, Prince, Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode. That was our Michael Jackson. That was our music at our middle school dances, and it was new. We would dance. I would never dance. You didn't, did you go? Yeah, but hindsight, I was too immature to be there and embrace it, right? Other kids were. I was probably mocking them out of insecurity, realistically. Well, did boys dance that you remember? A handful.

to be there and embrace it, right? Other kids were. I was probably mocking them out of insecurity, realistically. Well, did boys dance that you remember? A handful. Wait, well, when we were in fifth or sixth grade, maybe a little earlier, we had a breakdance club. Remember breakdancing. Yes, breakdancing. So we had a breakdance club. I wasn't in it. I couldn't do it again. That wasn't my thing. But there were some guys who were breakdancing and spinning and shit on their heads and stuff. And I remember actually at Helen Morgan School, we were in pods. They had a pod. Here's your five classes for second grade, and here's the pod over here, down the hall. And I remember these guys, they had breakdancing. And it was like embraced, kind of like, hey, so-and-so is gonna breakdance, and everyone's watching. Breakdancing was like a big deal, and they wore parachute pants. That's what got parachute pants. Yeah, I had parachute pants. Everybody did. And like the windbreaker, matching windbreaker, whatever. Members only. Yeah, members only. Okay, so I never wore members only. I had a members only jacket. Everybody did. I don't know. So we did OP, Ocean Pacific. We had OP too. And then of course, polo. Yep, yep. And okay, so OP, Ocean Pacific, Guess. Yep, yep. I remember Guess overalls were big. I was never into Guess, but that was more of a girls thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then Izod's. Yep. Okay, so the cologne was that green polo. Yeah, which I still like. Okay, and then, and then Drakar. I was never into that. So Drakar was huge among the boys, yeah. But no, to bring back to breakdancing, I forgot that. It was like we were there in breakdancing. Yeah, yeah. You know, it's so cool. Just going back to the fashion stuff.

But no, to bring back to breakdancing, I forgot that. It was like we were there in breakdancing. Yeah, yeah. You know, it's so cool. Just going back to the fashion stuff. I had a pink Ralph Lauren polo jacket. Yeah. In like eighth grade or something. So I was all in on that. Well, that was Miami Vice, right? Or had Miami Vice shown up yet? I don't know. Well, no, a pink, that would have been preppy, the preppy handbook. Yeah. But when did Miami Vice show up for us? Like maybe ninth grade? Yeah, maybe. Because then it was the white linen blazer pushing your sleeves up. Yeah. So you could see your forearms. That was like a whole thing. We had a friend whose dad was an exec at Ocean Pacific. So he had all the OP stuff. Okay. And then everybody got into OP. Yeah. And Ralph Lauren, like polo was huge. Yes. Members only jackets were huge. Yeah. Serengeti sunglasses, I think they were, right? Do you remember? Oh no, we were Ray-Ban. We were not Ray-Ban until probably a little bit later. We were so Ray-Ban. They had those aviator ones. Remember they had the glasses and they had like the little side thing. Yes, yes. Maybe they were, oh, you know what, Carreras, like for Porsche, Carreras. Okay. Yeah. That might've been more the guys. Probably. But when Risky Business came out. Yeah. That probably changed. It was all about Risky Business. What year was that there for us? It was all about Ray-Ban probably. I don't remember. Yeah, I remember the black Ray-Bans. Yeah. Did you have swatch? Yeah, yeah. And you could change the faces or something. I had a black swatch watch. I bought it at the Macy's counter for $35. There you go. I love my swatch watch. I did too. And then Vans back then were checkered. So they were either, you could get red

I bought it at the Macy's counter for $35. There you go. I love my swatch watch. I did too. And then Vans back then were checkered. So they were either, you could get red and white checkered, which are the ones I had. You could get pink and white. I had pink and white. Okay. I went through this whole preppy. You went through your preppy phase, yeah. And then you wore them with no socks. Probably. Yeah. And then you get black and white. And I think you get blue and white checkered too, but it was all checkered. The way Vans is now is not how it was. Vans is a shoe now. It has actual chill styles. You could still get the checkered. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But they have clothes. It's a whole thing. But when we bought Vans back then, they were like 30 or $35. I bet the checkered ones are like 135. Probably. I feel like they were $25 or something. Oh my gosh, yeah. I love my Vans so much. Okay, so did you, on your Christmas tree, did you have either like that tinsel decor? Or was it like hand, was it the ones where you would take a string of tinsel and put it on your Christmas tree? Or was it like the rope type tinsel wrapping? So for me, two memories would be, we had the rope, the gold rope, and we'd do it as a family, you know, work it around. And then my aunt, Lorraine and uncle Tommy, had the stuff you'd put on. You'd put on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And some families would kind of toss that on. But then some families would do one at a time. Why? I don't know. How would you know that? My grandma did it. My grandma did one at a time. And I don't know. I think she enjoyed it, probably because she had four kids and it was the time she could be like, "Leave me alone, I'm decorating the tree." Did you grow up being

And I don't know. I think she enjoyed it, probably because she had four kids and it was the time she could be like, "Leave me alone, I'm decorating the tree." Did you grow up being afraid of Christmas trees burning down your house? Of course. No, I thought that was a daily occurrence. I thought every Christmas, like half the people I knew, their Christmas tree was gonna catch on fire. Okay, were you afraid of quicksand? Because for some reason, we were all supposed to be afraid of quicksand. I think I'm still afraid of quicksand, even though I've never seen or been around quicksand. But I picture it happening. Everything we watched, quicksand. Yeah. Something can happen. That's funny you say that. Road Runner and Wild Coyote, Tom and Jerry. Star Trek. There's quicksand in one of the episodes. Yeah, maybe. Oh no, there's quicksand in Fantasy Island. Yeah. I'm sure Chips had a quicksand episode where they had to come save them. Okay, what about the sleazestacks? They're my favorites. Land of the Lost? Yeah, totally. Those things would freak me out. Have you ever seen that meme where they show the sleazestack and it's like when your mushrooms just hit? No. It's a sleazestack. No, it's hilarious. And then, was that the only dinosaur? That wasn't a dinosaur, Land of the Lost. Was it dinosaurs? Yeah, but we've talked about that other one. You remember this, where that, I can't even describe it. This round thing with like Shaggy that was living in a house and they lived by a beach. That'll come to you, I can't remember the name of the movie, but for the show, it was like a show and it was like this, I can't even describe it. I can't even picture that now. We've talked about it, but. Gosh, I can't even picture that.

but for the show, it was like a show and it was like this, I can't even describe it. I can't even picture that now. We've talked about it, but. Gosh, I can't even picture that. You know what the trip is for us? Disney movies weren't a thing. Those really started, I mean, they were, but it was like Pinocchio. Don't you remember? Yeah, but Disney on Sunday nights with Herbie the Love Bug and the Waltons. Yes, Herbie the Love, I loved Herbie the Love Bug. All those movies. Oh, what about The Pink Panther? Yeah, yeah. I love The Pink Panther. The cartoon? The cartoon. I wasn't really into the guy, the live action detective guy. It was weird. Do you remember Mr. Magoo? I didn't watch that. Oh, you didn't watch that? No. What about the gorilla in the window? How much is that monkey in the window? Or the, the gala gorilla? It sounds familiar. Was that when we were young, like kindergarten? I don't know, it all blends, man. I know, but I think that was when we were younger, but I forgot about Herbie the Love Bug. Remember the Waltons, they'd be like, "Goodnight, Mom, goodnight, Mom, goodnight, Jimmy." I didn't watch that as much as Little House on the Prairie. Oh, yeah. I loved Little House on the Prairie. I've seen every Little House on the Prairie episode. I watched that, I read all the books. I was obsessed with that family. I definitely didn't read the books, but we used to watch it, it was like Sunday nights, right? Wasn't that kind of like Little House on the Prairie? Yeah. Herbie, Waltons. And Waltons. I think I went to bed when Waltons. Oh, the other one, Grizzly Adams. Loved Grizzly Adams. I love that show. I loved Grizzly Adams. That was a great show. There's another one actually, Mutual of Omaha. That was like the Wild Kingdom.

Loved Grizzly Adams. I love that show. I loved Grizzly Adams. That was a great show. There's another one actually, Mutual of Omaha. That was like the Wild Kingdom. Yeah, Wild Kingdom. Yeah, that was cool. But- Yeah, Grizzly Adams was great. Grizzly Adams was cool. I was trying to think there was something else you said, it'll come back to me. Okay, what else? I wonder if we covered like everything that I wrote down. I'm reading it real quick. Saturday morning cards. Oh, did you ever do Columbia House where you could buy like a bunch of tapes? I think I did it as an adult too. Yeah. I think we changed our name or something, right? I think I remember doing, I think in high school or something and I got like, what would you get like, not a hundred tapes. No, it wasn't a hundred. It was a lot for a penny. You know what I did actually? It was something like that. It might've been Columbia House, but I got this whole blues collection. I've got like the Robert Johnson and the Howling Wolf and all these incredible blues artists. I have a wonderful-- Was it from that? Yeah, something like that. Oh my God, that's so funny. Okay, did you ever have a radio, a stereo in your car that you pulled out? Yeah, a hundred percent. Yeah, so in my first car, my first car was a 1965 Apple Red Mustang. I had no business receiving that car. It was the most gloriously beautiful car I could ever have wanted. It was my dream car, but I was 16 years old and I crashed it twice. I had no business driving that car. But it was fast, but I had a Kenmore pullout in it. Yeah, Kenwood. Kenwood. Kenwood, what did I say, Kenmore? Kenmore, yeah. Kenwood. And so when I would go to, like I was in high school, if I went to dinner, like my friends or my boyfriend,

Yeah, Kenwood. Kenwood. Kenwood, what did I say, Kenmore? Kenmore, yeah. Kenwood. And so when I would go to, like I was in high school, if I went to dinner, like my friends or my boyfriend, I would bring it into the restaurant or I'd put it in my bag. Oh, you had the removable plate? No, I pulled the whole thing out. Interesting. No, I had the whole thing and I would put it in my bag. Interesting. And then when I get in my Mustang, I just put it back in. Yeah, I would take it with me. That's weird, why? So no one would steal it. It was a removable-- That was a thing, like when we were younger, people would break into cars and steal shit. Yeah. I had a 76 Chevy Monza and-- I don't even know what that is. The stock car came with an eight cylinder motor, right? Okay. And mine had a four cylinder. That's like a V8, right? It was a V8, yeah. So instead of sitting, if it had the V8, it would have sat flat, right? Aerodynamically designed. Mine had a four cylinder, so it faced up a little bit. Totally dangerous. Changed the dynamics of how you steer. But I paid $250 for it, my parents did. And my stereo-- That's amazing. I had a whole Pioneer system and I put it in myself. Yeah. I ran the cables, I had speakers in the doors, six inch speakers in the doors, then six by nine speakers in the back. Wow. Yeah, that was a whole thing. And that doesn't sound like a very big car. No, it was so loud. It was amazing. You get it and it was just crazy. It was awesome, yeah. That's a Mons, again, I don't know what that is, but that sounds like it was a good time when she got in there. Yeah. Yeah. (laughs) So did you ever, I don't know, you probably never went through this, and I don't know if this is just because of my upbringing or

when she got in there. Yeah. Yeah. (laughs) So did you ever, I don't know, you probably never went through this, and I don't know if this is just because of my upbringing or whatever, or if it's a girl thing, but did you ever threaten to run away? (sighs) Not that I recall, but not that I recall. So I would say I'm gonna run away, like a decent, but I think there's kids who had a normal upbringing and also did this if they had, like were upset with something. Our daughter. Well, yeah, that's true, she did it when she was like three. Yeah. But one time I did, I grabbed my white teddy bear. I love that teddy bear. I think I still have it in our storage unit somewhere. I'd grab my white teddy bear, and like a doll, and we were at my mom's friend's house, and I left. And so it wasn't even my neighborhood. And I think I made it, and I would have been kindergarten or first grade. I think I walked for five minutes, which is a long time, long time to walk for five minutes as a little kid. And then I remember that feeling of, okay, I'm like far. And no one came after you? Well, no, so right as I felt like I'm far, which was probably like three blocks, I turn around and my mom's running towards me. So yeah, like she ran and got me. But that was the thing is like, I'm done, I'm gonna run away. But actually that time I tried it, and then you get that feeling. Like, did you ever lose your mom in a store? I remember like hiding under, I think it was at Macy's and hiding in the clothes. Oh, so you traumatized your mom. I feel like I did, but I thought it was funny because I was hiding in the rack of clothes, right? Of course, yes. I said, Brian, Brian, Brian. And I think they, I feel like the store manager got involved. Nice.

I thought it was funny because I was hiding in the rack of clothes, right? Of course, yes. I said, Brian, Brian, Brian. And I think they, I feel like the store manager got involved. Nice. I don't remember if this happened or not, or if I'm imagining it, but I really think it happened. I feel like your mom has mentioned something about this. I wish she would come on, because she'd have some good stories. Yeah, oh, she probably has the tea. Yeah, she does. I remember she told a story about, you didn't wanna go to dinner, and you guys battled about that, and she threatened to break your fish tank with an ax if you didn't go to dinner. And another time she cut up your pants, because you wouldn't go to dinner. This should have been red flags for me, that you don't go to dinner. You know what's funny is one time she, yeah, very true. She used to cut my hair at times, or like do like a trimming, and I remember when she nicked my ear, and your ear bleeds pretty good, right? And I remember seeing it, and then I pretended to really be in pain, and started crying. Oh my God. Yeah, that wasn't cool. You tormented. So I wonder, like, I was the type of Gen X kid, and it could have been because my parents are divorced, remarried to other people, blah, blah, blah, and I came from cast. That's a totally different episode if anyone's interested in that. Go listen to probably episode 13, and you'll hear my story. But so I was like pretty compliant, and I wanted friends, and so I followed the rules. I think you were the opposite of that. Yeah, 100%. I was an asshole at times for sure. Yeah, but you could get away with more back then. Kids could get away with more back then. Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's almost like when you ask if, did I ever run away?

I was an asshole at times for sure. Yeah, but you could get away with more back then. Kids could get away with more back then. Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's almost like when you ask if, did I ever run away? It's like, I don't think that entered my mind ever. I don't even know any friends that did. I feel like I know of some people that did, and we're like, why, huh? What is this? Yeah, yeah. So you guys were just very stable, very fine, and you were more running the show. I feel like I ran the show, kinda. And I had a great, I ran the show in many ways. Not 100%, but relatively compared to what you're saying. I had a lot of controller autonomy, but also had a good, decent thing going. So do you think there's things you did though, as a quote unquote bully then that now kids couldn't do or get away with or somebody's parent would probably call the school over? Yeah, probably. What were some of the things you did? I don't wanna sell myself out, but I will say this, you know, I was thinking about this, because you'd planted the seed, but we used to throw snowballs at cars. Yeah. When it snowed, it was like cool, but wait till it, actually we didn't wait till it got dark. We used to throw eggs at cars. That was always fun. We would do ding dong ditching. Yes. And that was fun too. I'm glad kids still do that. Yeah. You know, mischief night, we would TP houses, trees. So we TP, like when we would have a sleepover at like a girl's house, we would sneak out. Like the girl, we would, all of us girls would sneak out with a bunch of toilet paper and we would TP houses. That was the thing. I don't-- Soaping cars. What is it? Yeah, we used to take soap and put it on windows of cars and you know, either right things or just like really cover

That was the thing. I don't-- Soaping cars. What is it? Yeah, we used to take soap and put it on windows of cars and you know, either right things or just like really cover like the front window and shit like that. You never did that? No. Oh, that was, the thing. Never did that. I don't think I ever threw, I never threw eggs at cars. I did throw eggs at houses once. When we were TPing and I was like, oh my God. Now did you put rocks in your snowballs that you threw at cars? No. Okay, so you didn't go that far. No, we didn't go that far. Did you ever steal stuff? Yeah. Like from like a 7-11? Yeah, yeah, 7-11 or like the Acme or whatever, yeah. Not from people. Candy. Yeah, candy. At Jolly Ranchers, I would steal those 100%. So that was all profit. 100% profit. Yeah, yeah. (both laughing) So how would you steal? Where would you put it? All right, so we had, I had this, well, you could just, I had this eyesawed jacket that had hand pockets like this, right? You put your hands, like a, kind of put your hands through here. Yes. And you could kind of do this. Like how hoodies are. Yeah, like a hoodie, a hoodie spot, yeah, great example. I remember there was a hole in the pocket. So once the hole it created, I was like, hmm, rip it a little more. You could shove a whole bag in there and just wrap it around. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Were you the only one that did that or were you in your friends? No, no. Did they ever catch on that we're missing stuff every time this group of kids comes in? Well, it wasn't like a group thing. You do like one friend. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not like you go and just clear out the place. You know, you gotta be-- Well, people do that now. No, that's what I'm saying. This is very juvenile, covert shit in your pants

It's not like you go and just clear out the place. You know, you gotta be-- Well, people do that now. No, that's what I'm saying. This is very juvenile, covert shit in your pants the whole time and you don't think you're good so you can't see the store anymore. How many times did you do that? I don't know, enough to remember it. Did you sneak into movies? Yeah, yeah. Without buying a ticket? Yeah, yeah. Well, but like who was telling us Lou, right? Yes. In one of our previous podcast. He would let people in. I had a friend who worked at-- Okay. Yeah. And they'd let you in. And they'd start a movie. You'd go knock on the door and they'd let you in. Would you prank call? Oh, absolutely. So what were some of the, do you remember any of the prank calls things you'd say? We would prank call. But when we first did it, it was like, your refrigerator's running, you better go get it or something. It was like dumb jokes like that. But then it just was like breathing. Yeah. Or saying like just, I don't know what it was but we would prank call a lot. Yeah, 100%. Because there was no caller ID. It was all landlines. And no one knew. Well, there was a way too where you could block your line because caller ID came out. But there was a way you could punch a code in and not show your number. Yeah, that's later on. Yeah. Yeah. But when we were middle school, there was not a caller ID. Yeah. That was more high school. Like, what do you call it? How you record a thing like leave a message? Yeah, the voice machine. What's it called? (laughing) The answering machine. Answering machine. Yeah, yeah. Answering machine. So I remember when answering machines showed up and I think that was like high school with the landline.

(laughing) The answering machine. Answering machine. Yeah, yeah. Answering machine. So I remember when answering machines showed up and I think that was like high school with the landline. And I remember it was a big deal till like the message. Like sometimes as we got more comfortable, we'd play music and like say, hey, leave us a message. Like it would be like a whole production. It would be a production. I don't recall that. Yeah, that sounds like you and your mom. For the answering machine. Or I could just do it. Like she would let me take over and it'd be like, you've reached da, da, da, da, da. But I would have like bells and whistles. There was like a director's cut. It was a whole thing. I had fun with that with the answering machines. And then it switched to voicemail on cell phones. But the answer machines were cool because you'd come home and it'd be blinking. If it's blinking, yeah. And you're like, we got messages. I think we actually had one too that told you the number of messages you had. Yes, you have nine messages or something like that. And then you'd listen to it. And do you remember when it first. Half of them were the same person who just screwed up leaving the first message. Like, what the hell? Oh, okay. Do you remember when they first came out, it was on a tape. It was like a little tape in there. Oh yeah, the little micro cassette. And so there were times like, if your tape got messed up, you lost your messages. Like that was the whole thing. Do you remember like having to share the landline with your family? Oh yeah. So you'd get, like, did you and your sister ever have to battle over phone time? My sister actually got her own number when she was in like ninth grade or something.

with your family? Oh yeah. So you'd get, like, did you and your sister ever have to battle over phone time? My sister actually got her own number when she was in like ninth grade or something. I remember kids who would have that. And I was like, wow, you got your own number? I remember I had my own phone in my room in high school, but I did not have my own number. But I had my own phone. It wasn't just sharing the line, it was making sure no one picked up the line while you were talking. Yes, and listened. Yes, and listened. If you're talking to your girlfriend or your boyfriend. No, that was the whole thing. 100%. But I remember when I finally got a phone in my room, I didn't have to sit out in like the living room and be on the phone or like, I'd take it, the whole cord, I could go in the garage. I'd pull it into the garage and I'd be on the phone in the garage. So that was the whole thing. Do you remember always thinking there's gonna be a nuclear war? Yeah, we grew up in that. Remember that movie Red Dawn? Red Dawn. Yeah, I mean, we grew up in the Cold War. Cold War. Cold War, yeah. Yeah, but we literally, we would do drills and we'd have to go under the desk. Did you ever do that? I don't remember that. Yeah, we would do that. Like if we were gonna get bombed by a nuclear bomb, going under the desk is what's gonna save us. That's what we thought. You know, it's interesting. So I was up in Birmingham a few years ago with Nathan and Ben, and I actually took a picture because there was a sign on a brick building of saying like nuclear shelter. You don't see that too often. No, no. And it was like nuclear shelter and it's like pointing down here, going to the basement. Yeah, no, and I remember there were like,

You don't see that too often. No, no. And it was like nuclear shelter and it's like pointing down here, going to the basement. Yeah, no, and I remember there were like, there was a movie called-- Red Dawn. No, that one, but then there was a TV movie called like The End or something. Like Propaganda for sure. But no, but it was like a Hollywood movie, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it was about the end of a nuclear war happening. I remember that. I wish I could remember the name of that movie, but Red Dawn, Red Dawn is such a Gen X movie. Okay, so there's a group of movies. Red Dawn, The Outsiders. Yeah, that's a great movie. Breakfast Club. Sixteen Candles. Tex. What? Tex. I don't remember that. That's with Matt Dillon. So the woman that wrote Outsiders, S.C. Hinton, she wrote Tex. She wrote That Was Then, This Is Now. They made movies on that. So that was like a whole genre. So you didn't, The Outsiders, did you read The Outsiders? I actually read part of The Outsiders. I'm not a big book, guys, you know. But I've seen the movie at least a bunch of times. I love it. Yeah, and then Pretty in Pink. Did you ever see Pretty in Pink? Yeah, but it doesn't really resonate. So there was that whole John Hughes genre. And then, because that's Breakfast Club. I feel like those are more girl movies. Probably. I remember like St. Elmo's Fire. St. Elmo's Fire, that's in the same. Say Anything, that's where he holds the boombox up, John Kuzak, outside her window. That's iconic. That's what makes all those tennis women think that's, we should have expected that. We didn't, but that's what we should have held to, is hold the boombox out our window. I would say I was more of like an animal house guy. Yeah. The Wall, love The Wall.

We didn't, but that's what we should have held to, is hold the boombox out our window. I would say I was more of like an animal house guy. Yeah. The Wall, love The Wall. Yeah, but I'm talking, yeah, yeah, I guess, yes. The Wall, that's a whole thing. Yeah. But yeah, usually you're like, stone. And the Blues Brothers, I love the Blues Brothers. Revenge of the Nerds. Revenge of the Nerds. That whole, and that's one of those series where they did like 20 of them, but in the first several were pretty good. I think it was just two, but, okay, Police Academy. I was just about to say that, yeah. Dad had a bunch, okay, Rocky. Rocky, yep, yep. Okay, I personally think, I love Rocky and Rocky too, but my Rocky is Rocky III. It's funny you say that, yeah. Mr. T, I think it's because that was like, we were that little bit old enough to really appreciate it. Which Rocky did they fight the Russians in? Rocky IV. Okay, so I saw Rocky IV in a movie theater in West Virginia, Morgantown. Yeah. And the whole place is going crazy, going, get him, Rock, get him, Rock. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The whole place, the place is screaming. Yes. It was amazing. Yeah. It was good. No, that was, and then Terminator. Yeah, the whole series. That's our time. That's Gen X's time is Terminator. What's the other one, First Blood? First Blood. Right? Yeah, that's Rambo. Rambo, like all of that. So you really think about like the first movies I mentioned, the outsiders in that genre and John Hughes in that genre and then Rocky and series and the Rambo series and Revento the Ners. Well, before you wrap it up, Friday the 13th, Halloween. Okay, then horror. So we had Halloween. Like we were there when all this stuff came original. These were not remakes.

and Revento the Ners. Well, before you wrap it up, Friday the 13th, Halloween. Okay, then horror. So we had Halloween. Like we were there when all this stuff came original. These were not remakes. These were newly created movies, screenplays, everything. So yes, we had Friday the 13th, we had Halloween and we had Nightmare on Elm Street. Those were like our big and it just- Jaws. Jaws, we were the generation- Still a Freddy. Yeah. I'm just kidding. We were the generation of Jaws. Yeah. Okay. We were the generation of get the shit scared out of you if you turned on the wrong channel. Yes, true. Really? So true. Yeah. That is so true. Did you ever see Piranha? Hell yeah. Like I saw it in a drive-through. My mom and my stepdad were watching the movie in front of them. They brought me with them to watch that movie. I turned around and watched Piranha. I think I was six. Yeah. And I was horrified. My best friend had red belly Piranhas as pets. Oh my gosh. It was awesome. We'd go to the mall, buy goldfish, come back and feed them. Oh my gosh. You know, they go crazy like the movie. Yeah. Crazy. Yeah, no, it is. I remember thinking like I'm going to have a time in my life along with the quicksand. I will encounter Piranha. You know, now that we live in Florida, Piranhas survive here. Yeah. We don't have a Piranha population that I'm aware of, but they survived on it. Yeah. Do you remember there was like a TV movie about ants that killed, like they swarmed people and killed them? Does that sound familiar? I don't know. I just remember there's a scene in the movie where a little boy falls in a dumpster and the ants get him and kill him. I was watching that, I think I was six, seven. So ants then that was a

I just remember there's a scene in the movie where a little boy falls in a dumpster and the ants get him and kill him. I was watching that, I think I was six, seven. So ants then that was a whole thing to add to my list. I remember like Revenge of the Body Snatchers. I didn't see that one when I watched it later. I think that came out and it was 3D. I think I-- That's what they did. It was a 3D movie and I think it was Revenge of the Body Sn, or something of the Body Snatchers. Well, there was Close Encounters of the Third Kind. That was Alien. Oh my God, do you remember E.T.? Yeah. The phenomenon of E.T.? Yeah, yeah. Oh my God. Like you can't duplicate that. You cannot culturally duplicate the phenomenon of E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, that whole thing. I wasn't told the end of that. Really? Not really. There was Star Wars. Star Wars. Like we're the generation of Star Wars. Yeah. Think about that and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Yeah. All of that. So you look at everything we just talked about, all those movies and you compare it to what is being offered in theaters for the last 10, 15 years, 20 years. It's like a joke. It's a joke. Like there's nothing that, it's so few that something comes out that's of such quality and originality as what we got in the 70s and 80s and 90s. I would say those three decades really put out some of the most iconic movies and it made it worth spending the money to go see a movie. Of course it wasn't as expensive as it is now, but it made it worth it. Where there's really nothing at this point where I'm like, yeah, that's worth it. It'd have to be something big. I can't even think of, I don't watch movies anymore. There's no entertainment value to me at all. No, but just, and I don't

where I'm like, yeah, that's worth it. It'd have to be something big. I can't even think of, I don't watch movies anymore. There's no entertainment value to me at all. No, but just, and I don't even think our kids really, like we were, they're not like a movie generation. No. Like how we were, I don't think, I could be wrong. I don't know if the millennials feel this way. I don't know if Gen Z's like a movie generation. Like it was such a part of our culture. It feels like, and I'm semi-ignoring on this, but it feels like there's some message or some political bend or some, it's not just some creative, imaginative thing. Like it has an agenda. It's got an agenda, it feels like. Yeah, I don't know, but even, and like I said, we didn't really have Disney movies. We did, they were the older ones, like the Pinocchios, the Cinderella's and all that. But that whole phenomenon of like the real big, like Beauty and the Beast and Lion King, that was more when we were in college. And that's when Disney really ratcheted it up. Yeah, do you remember like Arthur? Yes. Remember that show? That was such a good movie. Yes, there's so many, you really, Nine to Five. Nine to Five was a great movie. Nine to Five. That was with Dolly Parton and Lily. Oh Dolly Parton, yeah. Yeah, and that's when women were entering the workforce. It was such a good movie. What was the one, is it Willy Wonka? Well yeah, there was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. They remade that a few times. Like Johnny Depp was one and then-- I'm just trying to think back to like the Richard Pryor movies. Oh my gosh. And even stand-up comedians, right? Stand-up comedians, that was great. Completely, I don't know what the right term is, politically correct, right term is, but the shit they

Oh my gosh. And even stand-up comedians, right? Stand-up comedians, that was great. Completely, I don't know what the right term is, politically correct, right term is, but the shit they would say was hilarious. It was just wrong. So we had Richard Pryor, we had Eddie Murphy, like all in their prime. Yeah, to me like Chris Rock's kinda close. He's done pretty well, right? What about George Carlin though? Oh, amazing. I mean, that man was brilliant. Amazing, yeah. Oh, you just made me think. What about like Private Benjamin with Goldie Hawn? And she made a couple movies with Chevy Chase that I loved. Like they were like a little duo for a while. Caddyshack, hello. And meatballs. Caddyshack and meatballs. And then did you ever see Little Darlings? What is that? That was with Christy McNichol. That was like kinda racy a little bit. I think so, I had a crush on her as a kid. Yeah, it's totally inappropriate. Well, of course, if you look back now. But Blazing Saddles, just before I forget. And then what about all the Mel Brooks movies? Yeah, those are great, the History of the World, part one, part two. History of the World, those are great. So inappropriate, but I remember being like five. I don't even know, whatever it was. But so funny. Yeah, the world, what's his name? The Weirdo. Was it not? Robin Williams? No, no, no, he's not weird. The real, what do you know? Something, the guy who'd married like a 15 year old or something, the guy in New York. Oh, Woody Allen. I was never a big Woody Allen fan. I was never, like I was never really big into his movies. I think, I don't know. Well yeah, no, there's definitely a huge following. But I was never really, but you just think about all that. I don't know, and this could be just the Gen X

I think, I don't know. Well yeah, no, there's definitely a huge following. But I was never really, but you just think about all that. I don't know, and this could be just the Gen X or in me talking like you guys don't know how it was, but it was just so much, it was so quality. And I don't see it now, but again, I don't know. Do you think though, like are we just being nostalgic and thinking that something was cool and it really wasn't? And I mean, it's cool because we think it's cool, but is that just not happening today? Well, I think what I see is a lot of remaking of that. So I see a lot of attempting to remake stuff from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and like the Star Wars thing, they just keep continuing, continuing, continuing. But I don't know, I haven't seen anything like super original. Even Titanic was amazing and Schindler's List. Those are like 90s movies. Shawshank Redemption. So anyways, but just we were a generation of a movie culture, because even Reality Bites, which is such a phenomenal Gen X movie. We just, that was part of our culture. I don't know if it's as ingrained in the Gen Z culture. I don't know. I really don't. I know our kids will sometimes go see a movie rarely, although I will say our older son was there for all of Harry Potter and love. And then our kids love the Harry Potter movies and our older two love The Lord of the Rings, especially our older son loves The Lord of the Rings. Those are quality original movies. But again, those were made in the early 2000s. So I don't know. That's why I say I feel like in the last, especially 10 years, I'm not sure. Because even the American Pie movies were good. Yeah, those are good. Those are good movies. And those are like, what, late to early 2000s?

especially 10 years, I'm not sure. Because even the American Pie movies were good. Yeah, those are good. Those are good movies. And those are like, what, late to early 2000s? So something I feel-- The first one was. I thought the second and third one was the other one. What was the other one we liked with a dude in Texas? The 1976, "School's Out for Summer." Oh, "Days and Confuse." Yeah, that's a classic. Yeah, of course. And then you have "Talladega Nights." Yeah. You know, like Ron Burgundy, "Achorman." Yeah. So, but again, that was over 20 years ago. Yeah, it's crazy. So I don't know. You're getting old. I know, I know. But we had some good movies. But "Red Dawn," that brings us back to "Red Dawn." "Red Dawn," I can say for myself, after I watched that movie, I 100% believe that that is going to happen and that I will experience it. I thought that was part of our culture as a nuclear war. It was a reality that we lived, really until what, the Berlin Wall came down? Yeah. And then we thought, oh, okay. We're not gonna get bombed. So our son was at the UFC fights in Miami and he saw the president. Yeah. When I was in college, I think it was maybe sophomore, junior year, I went and visited my friend in Grand Rapids. And I went to a Berlin Wall, what's the right word, ceremony. It was, they were giving a piece of the Berlin Wall to the local place there in Grand Rapids. Yeah, yeah. Gerald Ford was the president. Okay. He was the president. He did the whole thing. Yeah. It was pretty cool. No, that's cool. It was cool in toothbrunts. I got to see Gerald Ford, probably 30 feet away at most. And a piece of the Berlin Wall got knocked down, which was very nostalgic for us because they showed videos of people tearing it down.

I got to see Gerald Ford, probably 30 feet away at most. And a piece of the Berlin Wall got knocked down, which was very nostalgic for us because they showed videos of people tearing it down. And it was interesting. No, it's a historical thing. No, do you remember, I don't know if it reached you because in Portland, this was big, but the punk rock scene, the sex pistols. Yeah, York City. Okay, so I remember I'd wear, we'd have, in downtown Portland, storage you could go to, and it was all punk stuff, but I would wear the high tops and you'd cover them with color and was sharpie. It was a whole thing. I didn't do that. Okay, yeah, we went through that for a little bit. What grade, what age? It was maybe sophomore year. Yeah, by then I was more into the dead. See, I didn't get, that until end of sophomore year. So this would have been maybe, this was maybe like ninth grade into sophomore year. But the sex pistols and that whole punk rock scene, that was all really big. So I wouldn't have been familiar with any of the sports at the time. Like, I mean, I knew the Harlem Globetrotters. Remember when we were growing up, the Harlem Globetrotters were a big deal. They were a huge deal. And then I feel like the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders were a big deal for a while. That was like a whole phenomenon, right? Yep. But I don't remember anything else with sports. Like what would have been the teams? For me, it was the Yankees. I remember becoming a Yankee fan in 1977. So I was six years old. Become a lifelong Yankee fan. The Raiders were good back then. The Steelers were good. Yeah, yeah. The Dodgers versus Yankees was a big rivalry. What about- Cowboys were the hated team. You know, we hated- Oh, were they? Oh yeah, everyone hated the Cowboys.

The Steelers were good. Yeah, yeah. The Dodgers versus Yankees was a big rivalry. What about- Cowboys were the hated team. You know, we hated- Oh, were they? Oh yeah, everyone hated the Cowboys. What about the refrigerator? Yeah, William the refrigerator Perry. Yes. He played for the Bears. The Bears. Number 72. And then- Back then it was Jim McMahon. He had the glasses and everyone would give him shit. And he's like, "I have an eye condition. I need them." I assume it is, but they did the Super Bowl shuffle. Yes, I remember that. I remember that. And then I remember the Bears. Remember on Saturday Night Live the Bears. Yep. With Ditka. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so I remember that, but that was probably more like when we were in college. So another thing, what was really cool for us, I remember being a young kid and being at like watching Mike Tyson fights on like Saturday afternoons. Really? When he was coming up and he was a kid he was knocking the shit out of people. Yeah. It'd come out and it's like, "All right, you gotta watch Mike." And he would knock out men in seconds. And he was so much fun to watch. It was awesome. I knew nothing about that. Oh, it was amazing. I remember watching that as a kid. The other thing too as a kid was Magic vs. Bird. Right, like his resultics. I remember that. I remember that. That was always big time stuff. And then I remember Michael Jordan coming out the scene. Jordan came along. I remember watching Jordan as a kid and Jordan put up like 65 points and he was their team. And then eventually they built a cast around him. Yes. And they, you know, rest his history. I remember that. But I can't, I don't remember. Like the Super Bowl, was it a big thing? Probably because they named a dad at the house.

Yes. And they, you know, rest his history. I remember that. But I can't, I don't remember. Like the Super Bowl, was it a big thing? Probably because they named a dad at the house. Like, geez, the 49ers, Joe Montero, Jerry Rice. I remember that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, okay, okay. Yeah, so I guess if it got really popular in mainstream I remember it, but I didn't follow it. Yeah, yeah. So. I was a sports guy. Yeah. You know, I was all in. I loved sports. Yeah. I've, you know, tracked each pro team and all of that. It was fun. Yeah, yeah, no. I mean, I think that, so I think we pretty much had very similar experiences. There's just a few deviations there. I think what's interesting, if you think about why, probably because cultures very cultivated and TV, everyone watched TV back then. Yes. I don't really watch TV anymore. I watched The Masters today, but off and on. But TV really drove things. So, you know, it's the news and then all the programs we talked about. And then the music, it was the top 40 until, well, but not really, because I listened. I had older friends, so I was listening to the Doors and the Stones and other bands like that. Led Zeppelin, ACDC, all these other bands that were not necessarily top 40. But the culture was very cultivated across the whole country. It was contained. It was contained. It was a contained culture. And you're right, everyone was watching TV. Like everyone experienced the MTV phenomenon at some point. And everyone, we all had, yeah, you're right, because the internet's made the world smaller by connecting us to the world. But we're not all similar. We're not all having this, I wonder if kids nowadays are having as similar experiences as we did, because it's just so vast now.

by connecting us to the world. But we're not all similar. We're not all having this, I wonder if kids nowadays are having as similar experiences as we did, because it's just so vast now. You know, what's funny is, I think I told you this, but one of my friends on Facebook has a freshman in high school up in New Jersey. And they posted a picture like a lacrosse picture of something. All those kids look like all the kids down here, wearing the same clothes, all of the same haircut, all that same vibe. And it's a trip. And that could be the connecting them to with from social media. So maybe social media is now the TV. Probably. You know, as far as like connecting. The scrolling. Yeah, the culture though, connecting the culture where for us, and maybe that's kind of taken the place of like movies too, in a way, is YouTube and social media and all that. I don't know, but you're right. Like if you look at social media, the kids, the boys all kind of have the same haircut. You know, though, if I think about it, I remember being in fifth grade and we had the teachers, Mr. Spice. And during, I don't know, whatever, some open time during the middle of the day, we'd, maybe it was rainy or whatever, I don't even know. But we'd be able to play music. And I had friends who had played the Beatles. I never really was into the Beatles. And I was in ACDC phase back then, Zeppelin, ACDC, Stones. And so when they got the record player, they'd play the Beatles, we'd play ACDC. And so, but I bet we all watched Little House in a Prairie or whatever, right? The same shows, maybe there's, so there's this common theme with deviations. And I think that's, will always be, and it's how it is today. Probably, it's so funny you say that, because when I was in sixth grade,

so there's this common theme with deviations. And I think that's, will always be, and it's how it is today. Probably, it's so funny you say that, because when I was in sixth grade, my teacher, Mr. Hausman, he's so cool. He's a doctor now, like Dr. Hausman, but he had a record player and I would bring in all my 45s. And I was like the DJ. And I think other kids would sometimes bring stuff in too, but I was so obsessed with music. And when I didn't play my stuff, he would play stuff. It was so cool that he did that. I think more teachers, I do see it on social media, teachers playing music for their students. And I think more teachers should do that, because especially the younger kids, because it can be calming for them. But that's a core memory for me. Like that was a positive thing. Oh, that reminds me, did you guys play four square? Not really, we played kill the guy in football. You're a boy. That was a boy. Okay, so the girls played four square. Yeah. Four square. We played dodgeball. Dodgeball. Yeah. Dodgeball was huge. So we played four square, we played dodgeball. You didn't play Red Rover, right? We talked about this in another episode. We played Red-- I still don't know what that is. That's where you hold your arm. I just don't remember it. You guys didn't play that? I thought I'm aware. Did you guys play tag? Yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah, we would play tag. We would play hide and go seek, or hide and seek. I don't think we played hide and seek. Did we play kick the can? You ever play kick the can? We played kick the can like when we would be, when my dad lived up north, and I would hang out with like kids up there. We would play kick the can in the neighborhood. But I can't tell you what the rules were.

like when we would be, when my dad lived up north, and I would hang out with like kids up there. We would play kick the can in the neighborhood. But I can't tell you what the rules were. I can't either, now that I say it. But I think kick the can for us is what our kids play when they play. Remember when they were younger and they would play outside? Manhunt? Manhunt. No, no, manhunt is more like hide and seek, where you go hide, and somebody counts to like 60 or something and everybody goes hide, doesn't hide. And it would either be like one person's it, or like maybe a couple, I think. Yeah. Because where I grew up, we could hide, right? Because it was all trees, it was, we could hide. And if you didn't wanna be found, you weren't gonna be found. So then the person would be like, "All right, I give up." And then you'd have to swap up. Then what was kick the can? I don't remember. I just remember like, it was like, I can't even describe it. I just remember he had to kick the can or something. But then you ran or something. Like you kicked the can and ran, and then maybe tagged somebody or something like that. Something like that. Now did you have tetherball? Yeah, but that wasn't like a thing. I love tetherball. It's kinda boring. Oh my God, I would hit that thing. Okay, so did you ever have to climb a rope to the top of the ceiling of gym, and all that was below you was a mat that was like this? Yeah. That maybe this thin? Yeah, it was a standard wrestling mat. Yeah. It was like two inches thick. Okay, but you had to climb a rope. I never made it that far. I love that shit. Yeah, I can't get to the top. I don't think they do that. If they do that, the mat is once. No, it's a total liability. Yeah, and it sure is liability.

I never made it that far. I love that shit. Yeah, I can't get to the top. I don't think they do that. If they do that, the mat is once. No, it's a total liability. Yeah, and it sure is liability. Yeah. The whole thing. Do you remember, did you ever get hot lunch? Like at school? Yeah. Oh yeah. Remember the pizza? That was buried. Oh yeah. It's like that square. A square, yeah. Okay, so that was all the same. I didn't really like that. I don't know if anyone liked it. I think it's just like, you can remember the taste of it. I wasn't into it. I grew up in New Jersey. I had real pizza, like thin crust. This was like-- Yes, yes, yes. I know. I'm trying to think what else they served. It was like a common thing. I would get, when I was a kid, I'd get PB and Chase. I'd get the peanut butter and jelly with chocolate milk. Yeah. And then, I feel like that's all I ate. I remember tater tots. And tater tots. Tater tots were so good. Corn dogs, we had corn dogs. Nah, I never had those. I actually never had a corn dog until we made it to New, moved to Oregon. Yeah, we used to have sloppy joes. Really? Sloppy joes. That was one of my favorites. I thought those were disgusting. Oh, they were the best. They were gross. So you played the recorder. Yep, not well. No, did you have a music class? Yeah, but it wasn't great. I still remember the teacher. She wasn't, we didn't jive. I don't feel like you jived with any teachers. No, there had to have been some. I think you were a menace. No, that's not fair. I think so. So our music class, our music teacher was cool, and you could go in there and play all different types of instruments. I remember our music class, there were auditions, I think, to be in the school play or the musical, right? To sing at the thing.

all different types of instruments. I remember our music class, there were auditions, I think, to be in the school play or the musical, right? To sing at the thing. And I remember-- It's like theater. No, like in the auditorium or the lunch room, the cafeteria and the parents. You know, it was a Christmas show, that kind of thing, holiday thing. Back then it was Christmas, now it's holiday. And I remember there were like, come try out, and sign up and get the goods on what's gonna happen. I remember myself and a handful of my buddies show up, and she's like, "Oh." She just said no to you right away? But she was like, "You guys are not serious. "You're here just to get out of your class. "You know, tell me, is that the case? "If that's the case, you need to leave." We're like, "All right, whatever." Oh my God, so she knew. We all left. She's like, "Absolutely not." So did you take home ec? In seventh or eighth grade, I actually really enjoyed it. You liked home ec? What did you like about home ec? The lady who taught it was super nice. It was an older lady, super nice. I actually made a pillow, a black pillow with, it was a Billy Idol pillow. So it was like white letters, you know, you had to cut it and sew it and stuff it and all that. Yeah, I made a pillow, I made a hamburger, I think. It was a hamburger pillow. Did you have wood shop? Yeah, that was my favorite. Yeah, I only took it once, I think, but I made a cutting board, which we still have. Yes, I need to fix that. They should still offer home ec and wood shop in class. I think it's, I understand having technology classes and I think that's important, but I think there needs to be a balance and I think they should bring back home ec and I think they should bring back wood shop.

having technology classes and I think that's important, but I think there needs to be a balance and I think they should bring back home ec and I think they should bring back wood shop. I think it's critical, because think about it, right? I was a menace probably for most of my classes, but when I got to wood shop, I loved it. Home ec, I loved it, for whatever reason. Home ec, I mean, I was like, boy, they know it's stereotypical, it doesn't make sense, but. You were using your hands. You were like doing something where you weren't having to sit and listen or read. You could actually do something. We actually had a plastic class too, where they had sheets of plastic, different colors, and you could make things. You'd have to use the jigsaw or the band saw and cut a pattern and then go over to the sanding machine or the lathe and then to the buffing machine and stuff. Yeah, I made spoons or something. Not spoons, but a spreader or something. Really? Yeah. We didn't have anything like that. No, we had wood shop and we had home ec and type. Oh, typing class. Oh yeah, we had typing. Did you have to take typing class? Yep. I think kids should have to do that still. 100%. I think they should definitely, so many kids just type with their fingers. You know what it is? I think it's almost like those other classes tap into, they just, there's different parts of your brain in use. So like for me to go to a math class, it's like, ugh. But to go to like wood shop, that's fun stuff. Yeah, no, I think it's a great way to grab those kids like that. So I think they should still. Did you ever have a pet rock? I don't think so. Oh my God, I had a few. Really? Oh yeah, I love my pet rocks. Did you have a rabbit's foot? Oh yeah, yeah.

So I think they should still. Did you ever have a pet rock? I don't think so. Oh my God, I had a few. Really? Oh yeah, I love my pet rocks. Did you have a rabbit's foot? Oh yeah, yeah. We would win a rabbit's foot at that. So every year there was a carnival in town at the church. You went to it, the heart lady of the Lake Church. And you would win a rabbit's foot for doing some, it's something, either fish or rabbit's foot. What color was your rabbit's foot? I think I had one every year. Like white or whatever. Yeah, I feel like mine was white, but I can't tell her. I had a pet rock that I loved and a rabbit's foot. And I remember I would win goldfish at carnivals. I'd keep those things alive as long as I could. Did you collect anything? You know, actually I had a baseball card collection. That was pretty expensive. We still have it. Oh, we do. Yeah, you're right. I forgot about that. I actually had, and this is funny. This is part of that Gen X piece probably. I had a matchbook collection. Of cars? Oh, of matches. Of matches, yeah, of matches. So when we'd go to a restaurant, I'd get matches. And places had matches. Yes, that's another thing. People had restaurants. And I would play with them. I would play with the matches and light them. Of course you did. And light the whole book on fire and throw it out and shit like that. Yes, yeah. Gen X, not supervised, just lighting matches. I feel like I was supervised by uncles or aunts or whoever that were like, oh, that's cool. Whatever. I remember, I think my mom had a glass jar that she had a bunch of match. I think that was a thing. You would grab matches. Everyone had matches. You just take them. Yeah, 100%. I used to collect stamps or stickers.

that she had a bunch of match. I think that was a thing. You would grab matches. Everyone had matches. You just take them. Yeah, 100%. I used to collect stamps or stickers. Oh, everybody had a sticker collection there for a while, right? I got a sticker book. I was all about the stickers. I'm trying to think other than Barbies and stuff, but I think stickers was my main thing. And then the pet rock and the rabbit's foot. I'm sure there was something else. What pets did you have as a kid? Dogs. That's it? No, and goldfish. Yep. I think that's it. You know how we have a fish tank? Yes. I had multiple fish tanks in my rooms. We had multiple fish tanks, no. No, nothing required maintenance. Dogs. You had dogs. Yeah, we always had dogs. Yeah. And I didn't really have any hobbies other than music. I think that was my main hobby was music. I don't even know what a hobby would be. I used to fish a lot. Yeah, it's like a hobby. Yeah. You played sports. Played sports. I played sports a little. My hobby was surviving. Yeah. I mean, another collection would have been once I got into the dead and collecting cassettes. Right, that's the whole thing. Yes, yeah, yeah. Well, no, adults, please. You have multiple hobbies and own all the things. You're a serial hobbyist, yeah. So I always say it's your way of hoarding because hoarding runs in your family. I would say it's more of a coping mechanism. There you go. Well, hoarding. You marry a Gen X woman, you need to cope. Yeah, and vice versa, dude. But yeah, so I think we covered it. I can't think of anything else right now, but if we think of more things. I'm curious if this resonates with anyone. I would love to know if anyone heard some of this stuff

I can't think of anything else right now, but if we think of more things. I'm curious if this resonates with anyone. I would love to know if anyone heard some of this stuff and was like, oh yeah, and remembered. The only other thing I can think of would be the merry-go-rounds, what the hell is that called? The seesaw. Oh my gosh, the teeter-totter. Yeah, the teeter-totter thing. That was so dangerous. Yeah, totally. And you dip and someone would fall and get hurt. You get off and you go, pooh. And then what about the spinny thing? Yeah, I think it was the best. And then you'd hang your head off of it. Oh my gosh, you think about that now. And all of our playground equipment was metal. The slide was metal, so when it was hot-- Jump up, being on swings and getting as high as you can and jumping off. Yes, I didn't jump off. But the slide, when you go down the slide, it was hot. Oh my gosh, it would burn your thighs. And then the jungle gym was metal. We used to hang from it or the bars we would hang. You do the monkey bars, I would get blisters. I would get blisters on my hands. Everything was metal. Yeah, and as you know, I grew up around Action Park, which they made the movie on. So it was the Alpine slide, the water slides and all that shit and that's a whole other-- Someone died there, I think. Oh, multiple times, I'm sure. Then they finally shut it down. Well, I don't, yeah, I don't know. There were multiple injuries per day. I don't know if there were, I don't recall deaths per se, but I'm sure there were-- I thought one person died. They did a documentary on it. I think someone did die. Did you go to it? Oh yeah, it was like a daily, not daily. It was 30 minutes away. It was up where the spa was, right?

They did a documentary on it. I think someone did die. Did you go to it? Oh yeah, it was like a daily, not daily. It was 30 minutes away. It was up where the spa was, right? So yeah, yeah, yeah. So you went to Action Park and you would actually go on the rides? Oh, 100%, yeah. Like the rides that they eventually shut down? Well, you know, if you watch the movie, it's a very accurate depiction. They would try different things. Like they showed that one where you go in and you're the human, right? You're not on something. And you go like this. They tried that. I never did that, but the Alpine slide, the swing that launches you into the water, the like go-kart things, bumper boats. Yeah, so that was something you did in the summer. Oh yeah. It was Action Park. Yeah, we did-- We had another one. We had Tomahawk Lake. I don't know if you ever took, did you ever take the kids there? No, because I heard someone died there so I wouldn't take them. I don't know if, I don't recall that, but it's possible, but that was fun. Someone drown. You'd get a mat. I think we'd do it on a mat. I think so, or maybe you just went on your skin. But you had to walk up to the top and they had two things and it would take you down into a pool of water and that was fun. Yeah, now we-- I got hurt a few times on it, but-- We didn't have, we had that one thing in Portland. It's like a Knott's Berry Farm type thing, but I can't remember the name of it. It'll come to me. We did everything dangerous like that. Yeah, we had a lot of things dangerous. Not that I can think of. We had people would ski up on Mount Hood and go sledding up there, but no, nothing I can think of that's scary like that. Well, Action Park was Action Park in the summer and it was a ski place in the--

and go sledding up there, but no, nothing I can think of that's scary like that. Well, Action Park was Action Park in the summer and it was a ski place in the-- Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. No, you went to the place that they made a documentary about. Yeah. And honestly, I mean, I don't think they embellished. No, it didn't sound like it. It didn't seem like it at all. You watched it, right? Yeah, yeah, no, I thought it was hilarious. Yeah, so-- We actually had the Playboy Club too. You did. So from across Action Park, you could look across and there was a Playboy Club. Yes. We'd go to that as kids. What a time. Action Park and the Playboy Club. And on that note, that's a great way to wrap because Playboy was a big thing too. Playboy bunnies. Yeah. That was a big thing. You know, the other thing, I don't think the kids do it today because they don't need to. They can just go on Pornhub or some other website. But we used to get Playboys or Wees or Hustlers or whatever. Remember, we'd go into 7-Eleven and there'd be like a hover. So you couldn't see it. That was a whole thing. My buddies discovered that they just threw away the old-- Issues? Issues, yeah, yeah. So I never dumpster dive, but I think they did. For porn? For Playboy and stuff, yeah. Porn, that was the porn back then. That was Gen X porn. That's hilarious. It is funny. Okay, so I think on that note, we'll stop. But if we get enough memories together, we'll do a part two of this. So hopefully for anyone listening, this was an enjoyable trip down memory lane and unlock some core memories for you. If you have any others, please leave them in the comments. It almost feels like a live and people could interact. Actually, that might be a good thing to do is we'll do a live on this

If you have any others, please leave them in the comments. It almost feels like a live and people could interact. Actually, that might be a good thing to do is we'll do a live on this stuff too with our TV dinners. Also, if you have any good snacks or food that you ate as a Gen Xer, please leave that in the comments because we would love to pick up some stuff and maybe do a TikTok Live or Instagram or Facebook Live, something like that, or film, do something. So anyways, hopefully everyone had fun with this. Definitely did. And we will see you next time. Bye. Later. (upbeat music)